Who here would give a warning shot?

[whipkiller]

So many people keep falling back on if someone breaks into my house, they deserve to die and I have the right to kill them. It's like the castle doctrine and 'stand your ground' laws. You're under no 'legal' obligation to walk away from a violent encounter. I support the right, but It's almost like so many of you are waiting to kill, once given legal authority. And that's a scary side of human nature of those who are supposed to be the good guys.

I feel some of you are akin to the people in my neighborhood who drive 35 in the 35mph zone, even when they see a bunch of 4 year olds chasing balls between parked cars. Hey, I'm abiding by the law and if their dumb parents are stupid enough to let their kids chase balls into streets, it's not my problem...there's a game coming on at 5pm and I don't want to miss kickoff. I'm not slowing down.

I've traveled to lots of places in the world and I know everyone doesn't feel like you guys. Americans feel this way though. Probably why we're so dominant.

Now you're just being ridiculous.

You keep saying how you support people's right to defend themselves, but most of your statements chastising anyone who posts that they won't fire a warning shot say just the opposite.

Just because someone prefers to not be gunned down in their own home, you're painting them as bloodthirsty killers praying for an opportunity to shoot somebody full of holes, and then you put us in cars running down little children in the street!

Since it's become obvious that the only acceptable answer is the one that agrees with your agenda, here you go...

"Yes, warning shots are awesome." (For you.)

By the way, where is that waring bullet going now? Do you fire it into the floor? The air? Through your wall and into the kids room, or the neighbor's bedroom?

So you have a purpose built bullet-trap in your house?

Why not just play a really loud recording of a gunshot?

I hope to God that none of my guns are ever fired for anything other than recreational target practice, and training. Training, like shooting rapidly into center mass of bad guy shaped targets. Sometimes from cover, or awkward positions. Or with just my weak hand.

Loud verbal warnings will be given. Certainly by my dogs, at least, and maybe by me, I don't really know. I might be so scared that no sounds would come out of my mouth.

No warning shots, unless you consider the 9mm rounds fired at COM while I'm getting to my shotgun to be warning shots.

warning shots tend to bring return non-warning shots.

I'll spot somebody points on the Ping Pong table to make it more interesting, I will not spot an intruder points in defense of the lives of my loved ones or myself.

I'd rather that my wife and I LIVE with the pain and sorrow of taking a human life, than not live anymore.

[CandG]

I'll shorten the consensus to one simple sentence:

If you aren't justified to fire at someone, then you aren't justified to fire at anything else, either.

That is not only most of our opinions, but law:

Under California Penal Code 246.3 PC, you commit the crime of “negligent discharge of a firearm” if you:

1) Willfully discharge a firearm,
2) In a grossly negligent manner,
3) Which could result in someone's injury or death.

1 - you DID willfully discharge it.
2 - it was grossly negligent, because it was intended to "scare" someone who did not pose an immediate threat to your life.
3 - Ricochet, wall penetrations, etc. In most cases, it could result in death, no matter how unlikely.

[squeeze]

...you start to think the anti-gunners might just have something on us.

I thought that is where you were headed.

Stop using "you" and write "I" because I do not have all of those feelings that you keep referring to. Own them! Don't put them on me.

[diveRN]

Wow. Great insight. Do you think that after all those years in ER and fire, your views about human life have changed? I know surgeons who lose people and then go out for drinks. They did their best...tomorrow's another day. But that first one must have been tough for them. I guess if my house were being ransacked weekly by a different thug, my views would change over time. Is that getting hardened or jaded? Is it a good thing?

I wouldn't call it hardened or jaded, but desensitized. As a medical professional, becoming desensitized is necessary to cope with the loss that inevitably comes with the job. The hardest loss to deal with are kids because they're innocent, but you deal with it. If you don't, it'll consume you. Sometimes we talk through it, other times we joke. We use whatever coping mechanisms we have available.

Death is a part of life, everyone does it. We work to save lives, but if some idiot wants to play stupid games, they're inevitably going to win stupid prizes and there's just no fixing stupid. Period.

No, I'm not waiting around to kill someone or hoping someone will break into my house. On the contrary, I've added a lot of security to my home that ensures a bad guy is going to have a real hard time getting in ... all the more reason that if someone actually does get inside my place uninvited, they're not going to walk out.

[pterrell]

Warning Shot = Unlawful discharge of a firearm. Shoot to kill.

[Cpl. Haas]

Warning Shot = Unlawful discharge of a firearm. Shoot to kill stop the threat.

^ Fixed it for you. The only people I've ever known who train to "shoot to kill" are SWAT snipers under very specific circumstances when they have to sever the brain-stem.

[pterrell]

^ Fixed it for you. The only people I've ever known who train to "shoot to kill" are SWAT snipers under very specific circumstances when they have to sever the brain-stem.

Fair point. I suppose stop the threat is the more accurate term.

[SloChicken]

Fair point. I suppose stop the threat is the more accurate term.

still, gotta admit, severing the brain stem will certainly stop the threat.
unless they are a democrat.

[pterrell]

still, gotta admit, severing the brain stem will certainly stop the threat.
unless they are a democrat.

If I ever have to fire my weapon, I'm shooting to kill. Just me though

[MarikinaMan]

That's a really odd interpretation.

If you have a suspected intruder, IMVHO you would be justified in believing you were at risk of death or serious injury.

Yeah, I thought it was odd. When I read the end saying "If you don't believe that danger is imminent, don't draw/aim." You wouldn't not draw or aim in trying to find the intruder.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I know of one situation where warning shots were fired. This happened in another country. My neighbor's wife was home alone and she saw men entering the home. She ran to the bedroom, locked the door, and retrieved her husband's firearm, as she had trained with her husband. The men at some point got to the bedroom door and tried to kick it in. She then fired 3 shots at a neutral direction, as she had trained with her husband to signify she was armed. The home invaders left, the neighbors started coming out, police came, eventually, and she exited the room safe.

This was before cellphones were common place. I'd say 1992. Not ideal, but that was their defensive plan for exactly that situation. Barricade in a safe place if escape is not an option, retrieve fire arm, aim at the door, fire off some warning shots and shoot a perp if he makes it in the room.

Seemed reasonable and it worked well at the time. If the armed individual is not prepared to take an offensive role, a warning shot doesn't sound half bad.

[meno377]

Remember OP. If you're determined to fire a warning shot, be prepared for the consequences for where that bullet may go. And if you value any opinions on this thread, consider as of this moment that 100% of the members here who have shared their opinions suggest to never fire a warning shot purposely.

[Dutch3]

I fire my warning shots on the range. If a bad guy isn't there to hear them, it's his/her loss.

I have fired "warning shots" to stop animals from attacking and/or to get them to quit attacking.

I have done so as well. In the case of one particular animal, there will be no warning shot next time. His owner is aware of that.

In the case of animals, the owner is usually the problem, so I try to give the animal one chance for his owner to start acting responsibly.

[heidad01]

OP disappeared. What is the deal Babe?

[muzzle_flip]

A warning shot means I have one less round to use on the bad guys.

[calif 15-22]

Thanks for that...I appreciate it. So since you're answering from the heart, answer my original question. Could you ever see yourself firing a warning shot under any circumstances? Could you visualize yourself thanking God as the thug turned tail and ran that you wouldn't have to go through life with that burden?

No warnIng shot. I would do whatever I could to yell, warn, beg him not to step forward, but once I see he has a weapon no warning shots