Can you legally kill people who try to rob you?

[Odomize]

Say, you have a concealed weapon license and carry guns. And a dude tries to rob you using the "i've got a gun but it's only his finger" method. Can you legally kill in that case?

[KeylessEntry]

I think it depends on which state you are in, and whether you are on private or public property, and probably some other factors too, but I'm not entirely sure to be honest.

[L.Kizzle]

Say, you have a concealed weapon license and carry guns. And a dude tries to rob you using the "i've got a gun but it's only his finger" method. Can you legally kill in that case?

No

[JayGuevara]

You can't legally kill anybody as a civilian. You can argue that it was in self defense and be absolved of wrong-doing, but killin folks is not legal.

[Younggrease]

You can't legally kill anybody as a civilian. You can argue that it was in self defense and be absolved of wrong-doing, but killin folks is not legal.

I thinks he means can you get away with it...The short answer is it depends. There can always be self defense but what constitutes self defense might change from juridiction to jurisdiction. But there usually has be proportional response and you still have to be in danger.

"i've got a gun but it's only his finger"

Depending on jurisdiction the answer would be yes..Im tempted to say yes altogether as long as the assumption that he had a gun wasnt unreasonable...

[Kleiza7]

people should be not only able to but pro-killing robbers

[jbot]

really depends on several things. they'll look at whether the gun was concealed, whether or not u were really in danger under in the court's eyes, etc. our judicial system is bad.

if they break in your house, you can defend them as long as they are inside. once they're outside, they are considered no longer a threat and u gotta call 911.

[Parade]

If you do, make sure they are dead, so they can't come back and sue you.

[emsteez forreal]

isn't it texas that has the "make my day" law?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Doctrine

which is KINDA similar to it . but i think in general if you kill someone that tries to attack you then it can be ruled as self-defense, whereas if they don't actually attack you then you might get in trouble for killing them .

[dnyk1337]

If only the laws from the Middle-Ages still stood. We could go around town with swords tied to our belts and slash people because they are against the church.

[loot]

In the Netherlands you'll get sued if you beat burglars up with a baseball bat when they're in your house at night. True story. Guy living alone with his daughter got a few months of jailtime iirc for that.

Just shows you how crazy this is.

[pete's montreux]

I always thought you were only allowed to do what was being done to you. For example, if the robber is attacking you with a knife, you can only defend yourself with another knife, or your hands. If you use a gun on someone with a knife, that would be murder.

I don't remember where I heard that.

[kentatm]

um, if there are states that say taht BS Pete you need to get out of them. thats complete crap. if a guy is trying to stab me to death and I have a gun,m i will blast his ass.

i think that would count as self defense anyway and you'd be fine. i cant imagine any state that would rule otherwise.

then again, im from Texas... our rules are a little more hardcore when it comes to that kind of thing.

[Kebab Stall]

Not sure of it's true, but in England, if someone breaks in to your house, you can use any way that you see fit to remove them from your house. That doesn't include cold blooded murder. Though I'm pretty sure you can take a bat to someone's head if he is on your property and you feel is a threat to you or your family.

[2LeTTeRS]

I always thought you were only allowed to do what was being done to you. For example, if the robber is attacking you with a knife, you can only defend yourself with another knife, or your hands. If you use a gun on someone with a knife, that would be murder.

I don't remember where I heard that.

Some states may have that law but I haven't heard it interpreted that way. The law normally does say that you're only able to use an amount of force proportional to what is being threatened to you. My problem with the law being interpreted as you said it though, is a knife constitutes an attempt to use deadly force so most jurisdictions would allow a gun as on the same level of force. But again that will vary from state to state.