|
Walt,
It all has to do with what a civil (not criminal) court thinks is "reasonable". If you're taking a 5 lb to a 4 lb, that's a 20% reduction and would be hard to classify as "unreasonable" in my mind. But if you're taking an 8 lb to a 4 lb, that half. And that might be unreasonable.
There's a fine line out there, and it's up to you to find it. Unfortunately, it's also a moveable line, so what's ok with one jury might not be with another. Remember that it's not "reasonable doubt" in civil court, it's a majority decision. You have to do what most people would do. The good news is that you'd most likely be able to introduce into evidence what the bad guy was doing prior to you lighting him up.
I'm drawing the line between civil and criminal since unless you're being purposefully unreasonable, I can't imagine any DA filing any sort of serious charge against a shooter for defending themselves or someone else.
As far as gun owners getting sued, I don't have that information, although I do know that Kel-Tec and Armalite were both sued unsuccessfully for light pulls. There were some significant defense costs in both cases though.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
|