DavidC,

How exactly do you have the potential for death or serious bodily harm if the gun is not loaded?  If the gun is not loaded, and the moron is 25 yards away, how can a the moron attempt to do serious bodily injury to another?  Reckless endangerment and Aggravated Assault do not apply based solely on your description of the events.  

There are more ways to secure a range than just locking the door and stepping off the ladder and out of the "line of fire" should have been your first action.

Oh...and what crime were you accused of?  417 is a [b]California[/b] Penal Code section.  You are in Pennsylvania.  417 CPC doesn't apply there.  I merely said that your actions, as you described them, satisfied the elements of that [b]California[/b] crime.  

QCMGR,

And your legal training is...?

Actually, I emailed Anti and suggested that this thread be dropped because it was degenerating into a pissing match, though only QCMGR was bordering on throwing insults.  Anti wanted a complete retraction of everything I posted.  I hope he's not holding his breath...

Well...Last post on this thread for me.  BuBye.

Frank -

Calm down, man. Dave_G is from California, and it's obvious he's been there too long. (Which might actually be your point [:)]. I'm sure that if he's walking the beat and somebody points a gun at him and yells, "don't worry, it's unloaded" he won't have a problem with that.  He seems to think that I should have believed someone who was already breaking all the rules that their firearm wasn't actually a threat to me. Doesn't that sound like a Californian to you?

He knows that he can't win this argument and now will attempt to rely on sophistry to cover his tracks. Notice his attempts to edit what he already said, or was it a sudden realization that laws in CA have no bearing anywhere else?

Dave,

I make no claims.

Most states permit one to stand your own ground and meet force with force as long as the defender is not the original aggressor.  Now if DaveC had a reasonable belief that this guy my discharge his weapon, then he met force with force.  If the guy had taken a shot and missed would DaveC  be justified to fire back?  I challenge that he would be more than justified to meet force with force, i.e., the force continuum.  In Michigan there is no expectation of retreat.

Okay, so you are a cop...  At what point do YOU personally accept the fact that some dipshit is telling you the Gods honest truth about his weapon being unloaded..?  

The fact that the guy broke EVERY known range rule would make me seriously question his honesty, since his intregrity was already well out the window!

[blue][b][u]The following is a bit more reality based:[/b][/u]

[b]1)[/b] I point an UNLOADED weapon at you and tell you it's UNLOADED.
[b]2)[/b] You tell me to drop said weapon and step back.
[b]3)[/b] I continue pointing the UNLOADED weapon and you shoot me.[/blue]

I think this is a very fair assessment of how things work in the "real" world!

Something tells me that Dave_G was present when ole Rodney King received a few of his whoopins!

DavidC-
Let me ask you, would you have shot him if he didn't put the gun down?  I'm not interested in legal BS, just what was going through your mind at the time.  

Ross