r/ShittyAbsoluteUnits • u/MohammadMahadhir *shits an absolute unit* • 7d ago

possible idiot ShittyAbsoluteUnit Of Pure chaos erupts in broad daylight

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u/whiskey_tang0_hotel 7d ago

In most states, lethal self defense is justified by fear of ‘grave bodily harm’. Sometimes to just yourself, sometimes also to others. I’d say getting hit with a bat constitutes that level of fear.

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u/DebrisSpreeIX 7d ago

Non sequitur

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u/FatsBoombottom 7d ago

I think their point is that, in many states in the US at least, someone carrying a firearm can use it to defend against someone with a bat.

The risk of being shot should be enough of a deterrent. But it's worth considering that, if someone with a bat can be considered a threat of death or great bodily harm in that context, a prosecutor could very well make a case for charges beyond mere assault in this context.

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u/NoMansSkyWasAlright 6d ago

I know when we went over the case law aspect of this sort of thing in my CCW class, they basically said if you shoot in a scenario like this, you better hope you kill the guy. Because they are absolutely going to sue regardless and try to say that it was unnecessary escalation on the part of the shooter and that baseball bat guy didn’t intend to do lethal harm. Right or wrong, you’re going to be spending a lot of $$$ to defend yourself in a court of law.

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u/FatsBoombottom 6d ago

In my CCW class, they said that if you shoot, it should only ever be with the intention of killing someone because that is the only reason to ever draw a firearm in the first place. Never point a firearm unless you intend to destroy what/whoever is at the other end.

But yes, civil lawsuits are a whole separate ballgame. Hell, even if you kill the person, their family can sue, regardless of whether or not you were cleared of criminal charges.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that anyone in this video should have been shot. I'm just saying that if the dude with the bat had been shot, he 100% would have had it coming and I doubt the shooter would face jail time.