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Project 2 - Eng 102 Rough Draft
Project 2 - Eng 102 Rough Draft
Courtney Wise
Abstract
protecting his or her home to shoot an intruder in “self-defense”, or does such an act constitute
“excessive force”. The online definition of self-defense is simple enough, but it raises many
questions when applied to actual situations. I think this is an important topic for our country,
especially now, due to an increase of crime recently. It is beneficial for the people of our society
to know what is considered self-defense and what could be seen as an excessive force, ultimately
Imagine being a parent of two young daughters ages three and seven during a cold winter
night in a small town in the heart of Indiana. Nothing bad could ever happen in a small town
right? Well during this particular night, a “safe place” turned into one that was feared. The parent
of two daughters woke up from a dead sleep to the sound of someone trying to open the locked
front door. It wasn’t until that parent went down the stairs to hear where the noise was coming
from, that the man who was trying to break in broke off in a dead sprint to get away. That parent
was my dad and the two daughters were my sister and I. In that moment, my dad feared for not
only his safety, but the safety of his two girls and wife that he said he would always protect no
matter what. What if the guy had gotten into our home that night? What could my dad have done
to protect our family within legal rights? That brings me to the topic of self-defense. In a
dictionary it’s definition seems simple, but it is when the word is dissected within each situation
What is a sufficient level of force or violence when defending oneself? What goes
beyond that level? What if the intended victim provoked the attack? Do victims have to retreat
from the violence if possible? What happens when victims reasonably perceive a threat even if
the threat doesn’t actually exist? What about when the victim’s apprehension is subjectively
Self-defense is defined as being a claim or plea that use of force or injuring or killing
another was necessary in defending one’s one person from physical attack. This definition seems
simple from the surface but when guns are brought into it, it gets complicated. Some may say the
When Can I shoot, and When Can’t I? 4
use of guns for self-defense is “excessive force” and thereby cannot be justified. Others, have the
opinion that if someone is intruding your personal space such as your house or physically
attacking you, or putting your family in danger then you should have every right to overpower
that person and that may mean using a gun in order to ensure protection for loved ones. In the
United States, there is an annual figure of 2.5 million instances where the presence of a gun stops
a crime, and nearly half of gun owners say they keep weapons because it makes them feel safer.
A recent study shows that victims who resist with a gun are less likely than other victims to lose
their property in robberies, less likely to be injured by criminals, and less likely to be raped.
Guns are not always justified though, and in some states it is incredibly difficult to make a claim
Self-defense was around before the foundation of the United States. If traced back, it can
be found in the English common law principles, which are foundational to what would
eventually become the United States legal system. The English common law doctrine held a
“duty to retreat” that meant that you were obligated to retreat in the face of an attack. This law
went without issues until 1604 when a court case took place because of an intrusion of agents of
the king into a man’s private home. Due to this incident, the Castle Doctrine was added to the list
of laws as an exemption to the duty to retreat. The U.S. claims to be gender-blind and race-blind,
but the purpose of this law held a greater underlying meaning at that time. It allowed for some to
defend themselves in their home and was named the “Castle Doctrine” because a “man’s home is
his castle”. During this time though, it meant “a white, property-owning man’s home is his
castle”, and he’s allowed to fight back. Since then, we have held the same self-defense laws but
they have adapted to being open to all races and genders. The problem now is our country is
I think it’s easy for both sides of the self-defense argument to point fingers at the other
side. Some will say the use of a gun is an excessive force and there are other ways to defend
yourself, but I don’t think we as people really understand the situation until we have been face to
face with an intruder in a moment of shock, fearing for our lives, thinking of all the things we
wish we had said or wish we didn’t say to someone as that could be our last moment on this
earth. A lot of people have not been in the face of fear like that and a lot of people have not had
the responsibility of protecting a wife or a child. What if the attacker had a gun on them and you
only had a baseball bat? Who wins? The gun. Whether you agree with the use of guns or not, in
that moment you will wish you had a gun because that’s what would allow you to have equal
power with the bad guy and that’s what could save you or your family. It would do no good to
answer the question of “When can I shoot, and when can’t I? with a list of rules that must be
abide by because in a moment of fear there is no time to go through a list of regulations that the
government has created to make sure you are in the right before you think about pulling the
trigger. I think if one simple rule had to define self-defense it would all come down to this: you
are justified in using legal force against another human being if, and only if, there is immediate
The world contains more evil now than it ever has. Evil people. Evil firearms. The word
“self-defense” has only become increasingly harder to define because of all of the evil that is
Today, in order to stand a chance against the bad, the good must be holding a gun. 2009
marked the first year the number of firearms in circulation surpassed the total U.S. population. It
has only gone up since then. Due to the increasing number of firearms, there are becoming more
crimes, and because there are more crimes, people are buying more guns as they now fear for
When Can I shoot, and When Can’t I? 6
their safety. Instead of using a baseball bat or something hard to hit someone with like what
would get the job done in the good ole’ days, people are now having to resort to using guns for
self-defense because they know that is what the bad guy on the other side will be holding. Self-
defense cannot continue to be justified with a list of laws, there is a much bigger problem that
needs to be solved in our country today. Fingers can no longer be pointed at the person next to
you to solve the issue. The blame can no longer be put on the mentally ill. Younger generations
can no longer be seen as weaker and not be given a voice. Self-defense is a word that can’t be
universally defined anymore because we as a country allowed it to become one. Guns have
outnumbered our population because we could not stop its growth. It’s time to change.
When Can I shoot, and When Can’t I? 7
References
Ingraham, C. (2015, October 05). There are now more guns than people in the United States.
Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/05/guns-in-the-united-states-
one-for-every-man-woman-and-child-and-then-some/?utm_term=.9039dcf2cc4e
articles/12-lyn-bates/122-when-can-you-shoot-part-1
http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/may-i-shoot-an-intruder.html
LoRusso, L. J. (2017, November 29). Self-Defense Realities: Justified vs. Excessive Force.
realities-justified-vs-excessive-force/
Everything You Should Know about Self Defense in AZ. (2016, October 20). Retrieved March
when-is-assault-or-physical-force-justified/