Good day fellow bikers, Second Amendment aficionados, patriots and lovers of freedom! Hopefully you are getting plenty of wind therapy and perhaps some time shooting and enjoying the smell of cordite! It is hard to believe the summer of 2026 is nearly in the history books! The “Heat Dome” finally exited Tennessee earlier this week and the temperatures are back to their normal JUST PLAIN HOT levels! Today, I want to dive into what you can expect if it is necessary for you to use lethal force on a shitbag.
I hope you never find yourself in the terrible predicament where you need to defend yourself with your firearm. But bad things do happen – you may be at home, you may be out on a dinner date or you may be at the gas station filling your bike with high-test gasoline. And BOOM! – things go quickly out of control. You pull your pistol from its holster and command the thug to halt what he’s doing. Maybe he’s pummeling your friend, holding you at knifepoint or charging at you with a pipe. Whatever he’s doing, you are in serious danger. Bringing your pistol to full ready, you pull the trigger, hitting the scumbag square in the chest. He’s still coming so you put two more shots into center mass before your assailant goes to the ground.
Your life has now changed forever. At this point you need to call 9-1-1 immediately. When the police arrive they will inevitably approach you with their service pistols drawn and command you to the ground. You may well be thinking, “But I’m the good guy.” Unfortunately they have no idea what has happened up to this point. The only thing they know is that there is a guy on the ground, bleeding out, and you have a gun. Follow all instructions they give you. Explain that you feared for your life and you commanded the thug to cease what he was doing. Or, better yet, say nothing except that you want to speak to your attorney. You must understand that even if you did everything correctly, the police are going to consider you a criminal suspect at this time. Pretty scary, isn’t it?
If it can be demonstrated that you acted purely in self defense, you should have nothing to fear. But what factors are considered by the police, and most importantly, the prosecuting attorney’s office, regarding your claim of self-defense? The five legs of a successful self-defense claim are:
** For more details on each of these five principles, click on the hyperlinks above. **
Your actions must be able to demonstrate – and prove – that you were in the right. If you fail to prove any single one of these, your argument for self-defense will likely fail. The consequences of failure are immense – up to a very long incarceration in prison. This is why I always refer to firearms ownership as an immense responsibility.
Innocence
Innocence seems pretty simple and straightforward. You were minding your own business and the scumbag came at you with a knife. But in order to be innocent, you cannot be viewed as the aggressor. More than likely there will be witnesses to the event. Will they corroborate what you said happened? Were you somewhere you were not legally allowed to be? Did you initiate the altercation? Did you take actions which sustained the incident? Was it a case of mutual combat (two willing combatants engaging in a fight they knew may cause severe injury or death)? Did any actions you take cause a small altercation to escalate?
Imminence
Simply put, in order for your self-defense claim to be considered, there has to be an imminent threat of severe physical harm or death to you, or a third party you are protecting. If the dirtbag is 100 feet away from you and threatening to beat you up – it would not be considered imminent enough for you to use deadly force. If he is threatening to go home and get all of his brothers, and come after you, that is not an imminent threat. If he is 18 feet away from you and has a knife pulled – that would likely be viewed as an imminent threat that would allow you to use lethal force.
Proportionality
Proportionality is key to a self-defense claim. If you find yourself in a fist fight with a smaller guy, a proportional reaction would be to fight back with your fists. If you pull your sidearm and shoot the attacker, it would not be a proportional response. However, if you are being brutally attacked by a much larger man, and you are flat on your back being pummeled by his huge fists, you may well be able to use your gun to end the attack.
Avoidance
Could you have avoided using lethal force? While Tennessee is a “Stand Your Ground” state, could you have simply turned around and headed out the side door? Why allow a situation to deteriorate into a life changing event if it is not necessary?
Reasonableness
If the police believe your actions were reasonable, given all of the circumstances, you are most likely going to be cut loose quickly. However, if they have any questions regarding whether your actions were reasonable you may very well find yourself in legal jeopardy. If it escalates to the district attorney, there will be an entire set of litmus tests regarding whether you acted as a reasonable person would have, given all of the circumstances.
I encourage you to take time and read each of the hyperlinked articles, above, as they provide much more detailed information on the five key components to a successful self-defense claim.
Until next time, keep the shiny side up, carry your club when you leave your cave and shoot straight!
**NOTE: I am not an attorney and have never wanted to be one. This article is not to be construed as legal advice. Contact an attorney who specializes in self-defense claims for advice.**
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The Original Grey Beard Biker™️
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