Stuff that makes me angry
A former cab driver has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge for fatally shooting a passenger who had slashed his throat with scissors during a robbery.
The case of John Lutters, 46, of Seymour, had reached the State Supreme Court after a judge ruled that the taxi driver did not need a gun permit while on the job.
The prosecution had acknowledged that Lutters acted in self-defense and called the killing justified, but continued to pursue the weapon charge.
In Tennessee, valid self-defense is a defense to carrying a gun illegally, if I recall correctly. So, it’s basically illegal to carry if you don’t need to but if you need to, you’re probably OK. I thought for a long time that law was rather dumb but now I’m not so sure.
March 3rd, 2005 at 10:23 am
There was a recent case in New York, where a man shot a person trying to enter into this home. The killing was ruled excusable homicide, but he was charged with having an illeagal weapon in his own home.
I do not know the laws in New York, but in Illonsis you have to have a Il fire arms license to even own a weapon.
The authories in New York could not get him for shooting someone because the laws of self defense are two strong, even in New york, but they could get him on an illeagal gun.
I personally think this is a great law because i allows the right of self defense to trump the laws limiting the ownership of guns
March 3rd, 2005 at 12:47 pm
One side of me likes the TN law because anything that weakens a bad gun law can’t itself be all bad. Another part of me likes it because if someone is packing illegally and encounters a crime in progress, I want him to do the right thing, not walk on buy with his illegally concealed gun out of concerns that he’d be prosecuted himself.
March 6th, 2005 at 12:03 am
The lawsuit which led to Ohio’s concealed carry permit law used the existing affirmative defense law as a wedge. The plaintiffs all presented circumstances whereby they could show potential need to be carrying.