[ryangraves]

Hello, I am a 20 year old college student and plan on getting my ccw when i turn 21, this scenario happened to me yesterday and after it i thought about how it could have been handled had i been carrying.

It is a Monday afternoon in a busy outdoor shopping mall, as i am driving through the parking lot i approach a stop sign, i stop and wait for a car to go. As i make my turn, another car looks as if it is going to roll the stop sign and hit me. I honk my horn and the other driver gives me the finger, to which i respond with a fully erect middle finger back. Fast forward, i park and am walking into the store and notice a guy who is very pissed off looking, walking towards me. He asks if i am the "punk" who flipped him off. He stops walking and is about 5-6 feet from me. He then starts berating me in the parking lot and telling me that he is going to beat my punk ass and that he's a crazy motherf*****. I begin to get uneasy. I tell the driver that he was about to hit me and that he gave me the bird first and to back off. He keeps blabbering on calling me all sorts of names. At this point there is no one within 40 to 50 feet from us. He starts back to his car and i into the store, he then turns around and starts coming towards me exclaiming that he again should "make me apart of the pavement". At this point I'm scared because this guy seems super unstable. Im not afraid of confrontation and I'm not afraid to tell a guy to f*** off, but this guy was nuts. Now for the hypothetical part, at the point he turned around a second time and started walking towards me i felt in fear that he may try and harm me, had i been carrying would it have been legal for me to draw my weapon and point it at him, to deter him from doing anything. Obviously i would fire if he made any quick movements at me but I'm unclear on the law pertaining to drawing to scare him off. Thanks

 

[pitor]

Jeebus, you need to go read the whole FS statute again before asking this. Seriously.

So you're absolutely equal parts on a confrontation and want to pull a gun because you can't hold your own h2h? Guess what. .. you can't, short and simple. You sound like you're going to become another gun-centric owner. Learn some basic effective h2h combative skills. When your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like. ..

 

[NotXskinnyXBarbie]

Welcome to grown up world where every action has consequences,including flipping the bird... or drawing walls or talking trash etc. Yes, dealing with drunk, drugged or crazy people is a possibility and if that person did not have a lethal mean of causing death or great bodily harm.... like he was 300 pounds of muscle and you are 70 pounds and can't move around ... I don't think you'll stand a chance in court shooting the man. Of course that wouldn't stop you even now of hiding the fear you felt in the first place... and maybe telling him in the second place that you were armed and not afraid to use it. Doubt by your story he'd believe you but that's JMO. The fact that he returned means he knew exactly where you were standing. Something called reading people.

And the next couple of months, parking lots are the worst place to be righteous. Better to park away and ignore rude drivers. Not worth :dunno

 

[Barry45ACP]

I agree with Pitor & Barbie on this one. Additionally, you're going to have to learn how NOT to flip people off and NOT honk at them, and avoiding hostile confrontations or other road rage situations. That whole confrontation was 100% avoidable. You should really learn some serious H2H skills before you pursue the notion of carrying a firearm. Understanding how Florida self-defense laws can work against you, will certainly work to your advantage.

 

[bladenbullet]

you lost at returning the bird....time to throw on a pair of big boy pants and grow up before you throw a gun into the mix and screw everything up....life is full of little defining moments....letting another ahole get the best of you and draw into a confrontation is a fail....

 

[LittleGator]

Wise advise from all above. Heed it, for your own good and safety.

 

[bttbbob]

Avoid, Evade and Escape.

 

[Endangered Species]

How to handle it next time? Don't flip the bird back. You played his game and nearly lost. Make him lose your game by being the superior person.

 

[Fatdaddy]

Wise advise from all here.

 

[daytona]

These days you don't know who is carrying a gun....legal or not. The days of a flipped bird and a f--you are pretty much gone --- can get you killed. Slow down on wanting to flash a gun, that alone will get you in trouble and if the other guy is unarmed and hasn't touched you and you shoot....your now the bad guy. Carrying a gun is a HUGE responsibility .... study up.

 

[BeerHunter]

You aren't carrying a weapon to try to "win" an argument, especially one you could have avoided in the first place. And if it would't be legal to shoot, don't think it would be legal to draw "just to scare." When you draw, you have to be prepared to shoot. Avoid, evade, escape; great advice from bttbob as well as the feedback from pitor, Barbie, and all the others above are of course, right on.

Right now is a great time to pursue some hand-to-hand (H2H) training; you don't need to be 21 years old for that and it will also help you develop a much better and more mature mindset for SD! When you do pursue that CCW, please make sure you take your traiing from someone very knowledgeable in the use of force in SD, read and understand the law. The CCW mills at gun shows are probably NOT your best source of training for a CCW.

May I also suggest you go over to the "Introductions" thread and properly introduce yourself as is normally done on your first post?

 

[Brian75]

Learn when to avoid, evade, escape, negotiate and de-escalate any potentially contentious situation. Refrain from instigating or escalating a situation like flashing the bird. You have to learn to be able to walk away from any disagreement before it becomes physical. The firearm should be the last tool to be utilized after you have exhausted all other options.

If you understood the potential life changing and legal repercussions you would drop the attitude of not being afraid of confrontations and not being afraid to tell a guy to f*** off. You need to be afraid of what happens afterwards.

Violence rarely just erupts without warning, there are typically warning signs leading up to a confrontation. Learn to recognize them and when to bow out before getting to the confrontation and violence part. You cannot have pride or set out to win arguments and carry a firearm.

 

[brownie]

Ah, the days of testosterone filled middle fingers and F U's. :grin

Cell phone 911 call would have been more appropriate than drawing a firearm as soon as he started to return. It's tough being 20 with little to no experience, and I'm glad you recited the scenario and asked your question here to get some feedback. That was a wise choice, even wiser to heed the advice from others who've replied already.

Lifes tough, even tougher if we make the wrong choices.

 

[Tominator]

This is how society has 'evolved.' Today's youth is so full of disrespect for strangers and the MMA attitude encouraged by music combined with drugs more allowable in every day activities and you get this scenario.:thumsup

I'm encouraged by all the responses!

 

[deadeyedick]

I've always been of the opinion that if you flip someone the bird, you need to be prepared to either deliver or receive an ass-whoopin'.

 

[Steve48]

Great advice by all. Expanding on the issue of whether you can draw to scare someone off, the answer is no. If you aren't justified in firing immediately, then you aren't justified in drawing.

 

[birdman]

Did you follow the Travon Martin/ George Zimmerman trial by any chance? Martin was sitting on Zimmerman's chest pounding his head into the pavement before Zimmerman pulled his PF9 & shot/killed Martin. Look at what Zimmerman endured following a righteous shoot? And you're asking if drawing a gun on someone chewing out your butt is justified? Are you kidding me? As others have said, you escalated the encounter by returning the "bird". At that point you LOST your right to a "perfect self defense" claim. Had it occurred as you described it AND wound up shooting the guy, you'd be charged with voluntary manslaughter at minimum if you killed him and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon if he survived. In either case YOU LOSE...

As others have said it's time to put on your big boy pants & grow up... The only gunfight you win is the one you've avoided.

Welcome to the real world instead of Hollywood.

Allan

 

[sheepdog]

An armed society is a polite society.

 

[brownie]

An armed society is a polite society.

We know there are a lot of people who are armed and very impolite at times don't we? :grin

 

[sheepdog]

We know there are a lot of people who are armed and very impolite at times don't we? :grin

I wasn't thinking about that. Good call. :rofl