Where do you live, PD?
I briefly reviewed Mississippi's statues and case law. You enjoy not only stopping a threat with deadly force for fear of death or bodily harm, but also serious crime. That's pretty inclusive.
There's also the added benefit that defending yourself in court means you're still alive.
Where do you live, PD?
A chop saw machete comes in handy when things get hand to hand. A must for home defense.
Rip, I am in Virginia. Just outside of Charlottesville, in the mountains. It is a weird mix of hard working country people and the overly educated blue hair-dye crowd.
Deadly force laws in VA is about like here. No retreat from threat of death or serious bodily injury. About like everywhere.
Rip, I carry. I was also LEO in a past career. That jaded me a bit. The law on paper isnt how the game’ s always played. Laws might be on your side but the Commonwealth’s attorney might decide to use you as a political stepping stone. We just elected a Republican Governor but we are a left leaning state. Most of Northern VA is basically DC suburbs. That and a few large cities all usually go blue and in the last couple years we have some really bad weapon laws get proposed. Some passed, some didn't.
I carry for a number of reasons. On most of my farm there is no cell service. And even if there was, nobody is coming for half an hour.
In the cities, it’s different. I have my head on a swivel. I don’t want to be involved in anything. Even if the law is on my side I don’t want to spend a year or two fighting for my freedom in court, if I can avoid it. Sometimes people find themselves in terrible situations that they can’t avoid. But sometimes they can, and just don’t .
I am glad that my rights haven’t been reduced to the point that I need to carry a cane as my last line of defense.
Which is arguably worse. I think every state should have a law that directly affirms constitutional carry and absolute self defense. I've never seen broad support for obvious abuse of such laws in any population, and it has been established that erosion of Constitutional Rights has an impact on crime, violence and abuse of power. Some things shouldn't be a crime because some things shouldn't be left up to a prosecutor, judge or jury.