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Requirements for justifiable use of deadly force. Don't take my word for it!

"(a) A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such other's imminent use of unlawful force; however, except as provided in Code Section 16-3-23, a person is justified in using force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony".


See the rest here...
People have a strong tendency to overlook that word "reasonably". And who determines what is reasonable? People examining the incident after the fact in a completely calm environment with all the time in the world.

That's why it's important to have clarity in your mind about the use of deadly force well in advance of ever having to use it.
 
Taking MAG40 was the best decision I ever made when it comes to firearms... Ayoob is definitely one of the leading experts in the field when it comes to carry and self-defense.

The only other person who comes close to him when your talking self defense law is Andrew Branca, who wrote the excellent book "The Law of Self Defense".

It doesn't cover the firearms side of of things like Mas's books and classes do, it's 100% on the legal side.
But if everyone on ODT would simply read it there would be a lot fewer arguments about stupid stuff on here...


 
In Georgia, the key term "great bodily injury" is not defined in the self-defense codes, but based on how prosecutors and the courts have viewed the same concept in the laws regarding "aggravated battery" -- the felony level version of battery-- it doesn't have to be a permanent crippling injury. A wound that temporarily leaves you impaired as to vision, speech, use of your mouth to eat solid food, having you walk with a limp, etc. can turn a misdemeanor battery into felony aggravated battery. I think that our term "great bodily injury" is pretty broad, and even if it's not that broad, the alternative justification of stopping a "forcible felony" is very broad. Agg. battery is a felony.
 
Ayoob talked about "disparity of force" as to one strong attacker vs. a weaker defender, but another type of disparity of force that can happen in real life is when a GROUP of seemingly-unarmed thugs attack a single innocent victim. I'd like to think that the collective might of the entire group can be and should be weighed against the strength of the one victim, thus there would be a great disparity of force, but that's not written in our Code, nor is it found in any Georgia appellate case that I know of. One day there'll be a case on this issue, where some overzealous prosecutor charges Mr. Armed Goodguy for shooting 2 out of the six hood-rats that jumped him in a mugging attempt, and the cops and prosecutors take the simple-minded view that you can never use a gun to end a bare-handed assault.
 
The first book I ever read that talked about legal principles was Ayoob's 1979 book
"In The Gravest Extreme."

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I think I was about 13 when I read it. Ayoob himself was about that age when he was first given access to a gun and instruction on how to use it, a gun kept under the counter at the family-run jewelry store.
 
The first book I ever read that talked about legal principles was Ayoob's 1979 book
"In The Gravest Extreme."

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I think I was about 13 when I read it. Ayoob himself was about that age when he was first given access to a gun and instruction on how to use it, a gun kept under the counter at the family-run jewelry store.
Still one of the best to study. I recommend it to every person I instruct.
 
In this forums collective mindset, guns are for sporting use and to shoot an intruder in your home means jail time. So why are we arguing?
 
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