oc at texas corral in portage

[dyerwatcher]

Statistics.

License

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

Why do you carry? If you're not considering that there is a POSSIBILITY (however remote) of having to use your firearm it should always be a consideration... I am ONLY looking at it from the LEGAL side... let's say you leave the establishment and are approached with an attempted robbery in the parking lot... Should you actually fire the gun, one of the first things they are going to do is a BAC... lets say it is still under legal limit, say .06 or .08.... It can then be used against you if charges are filed... not that you were stone cold falling down drunk, but that your judgment was impaired such that the reasonable and prudent person standard is tainted... Since every person reacts differently to alcohol, there is no real objective means of testing whether your judgment was impaired or not...

This is NOT a deal killer to a defense, its just that a jury is going to know that you had SOME alcohol in your system, and if you did, why were you carrying a firearm? ... It better be minuscule amounts which can be explained as not being an impairment or a non factor. AND, if you are OVER the legal limits, the jury is going to think, "well this guy was not even legally allowed to operate a motor vehicle, what made him think he could carry a gun and know when to properly use it to defend themselves...?"

As I said, I am only looking at it from the legal aspect, not a personal judgment position...

 

[dansgotguns]

Welllll from a legal aspect, there is no law stating you cannot drink and carry.

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

Absolutely not... It is NOT Illegal... I am ONLY stating that from a legal defense stand point it is a consideration... Hey I have a beer and I am always EDC. but I also know that I only have one, because at 275 lbs, I know it has negligible effect on BAC... (it is after all a dilution based on blood volume...) ... If I have to use the gun, I am not (as) concerned that the alcohol is going to become an issue.... even though it probably would anyway...

 

[nakinate]

I find it interesting that everyone always references the legal limit for BAC when talking about things other than driving. IANAL but I believe the legal limit only applies to driving. Because of this, regardless of legality, be prepared to climb a steep hill in defense if you have ANY alcohol in your blood during a shooting. A prosecutor bent on making an example of you will use whatever they can.

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

Agreed... it doesnt pertain to driving abilities, it is directed toward the "impairment of judgment" issue... You are put in position of defending a negative in that you have to show as part of the defense, that the alcohol did NOT affect the judgment in deploying a firearm in self defense.

 

[dansgotguns]

Well in regards to the situation I originally posted. I did not have the intention of consuming alcohol but the waitress offered and it was cheap so I figured id try the drink. I feel like I can handle an alcoholic beverage and carry, if anyone feels otherwise I really am not concerned because im worried about myself and not how others feel about it. And if I were to be prosecuted for defending myself solely on the fact that I had one alcoholic beverage theres a serious problem, but still not concerned with it because as the saying goes i would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

 

[IN_Sheepdog]

pithy... but true...

I was not saying that ONE drink is going to make you incapable of carrying responsibly... I do that all the time... (the one beer... and it is SOOO Nice... and cold, and frothy.... and... but I digress)
However, as someone who has dealt with people in this area of law, it is much different to have a definitive absolute number, as in " I had ONE beer, or I had TWO beers over the hour and a half we were there" or whatever... Cops are quite accustomed to dealing with guys that when asked, answer " hey I only had a "couple" of Beers, or I only had a "few"... by being non specific, their assumption is that it is significantly more than ONE, Two, or whatever the definite number is... Kinda like them asking on a traffic stop, "do you know why I stopped you?" and then having the driver ADMIT to driving "XX" miles per hour...

My point, KNOW HOW MANY you have over what period of time... it makes the defense attorney's job a lot easier...