Training

Serious Question

Three masked men are trying to enter your home. They announce through your Ring Doorbell that they are going to enter your home and kill everyone inside. When you don’t open the front door, they kick in the gate to enter the back yard before slashing your screen to enter your porch and pound on the sliding glass door to your lanai. Watch the video, then ask yourself what you would do in this situation:

In Florida, you can use deadly force in your home if you reasonably believe you or another are facing imminent death or serious bodily harm, or a forcible felony is about to happen, and you are lawfully present in your home. Because the statute provides a presumption of reasonableness when an intruder is unlawfully and forcibly entering your home (or attempting to), the law strongly favors the occupant in that scenario.

So the questions that must be answered are:

  1. Is the person attempting to enter your home?
  2. Are you lawfully in your home? (that is, are you breaking any laws, say by dealing drugs?)
  3. Have they threatened to cause serious harm or death, and would a reasonable person believe them?
  4. Is deadly force reasonably necessary to stop them?
  5. Is the threat imminent?

I would say that the answers to 1, 2, and 3 are a definite yes. Question 4 and 5 are a no. After all, jiggling the doorhandle isn’t enough to say the threat was imminent. After all, they are being stopped by a locked door, so deadly force likely won’t be viewed as necessary. Right up until they entered the curtilage of your home Let me take a moment to explain:

Curtilage refers to the immediate area surrounding and associated with your home — the space that is considered part of the home for purposes of privacy and legal protection. Florida courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have described it as the area that harbors the “intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a person’s home and the privacies of life.”
That typically includes:

  • The front porch, back porch, and deck
  • Driveway and walkways immediately adjoining the home
  • Fenced yard areas directly around the home
  • Attached garage or carport

It does not usually include open fields, detached outbuildings far from the house, or unfenced areas that are visible and accessible to the public. Under both Florida criminal law and the Fourth Amendment, curtilage is defined as:

“The area immediately surrounding and associated with the home, which is considered part of the home itself for many legal purposes.”
— Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (2013); Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170 (1984)

Florida courts have consistently held that curtilage is an extension of the home for purposes of:

  • Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure
  • Self-defense laws (e.g., the “Castle Doctrine” under § 776.013, Fla. Stat.)

Courts look at several factors to decide whether an area is part of the home’s curtilage:

  1. Proximity — how close the area is to the actual dwelling
  2. Enclosure — whether the area is within a fence, wall, or natural boundary that encloses the home
  3. Use — whether the area is used for domestic purposes (e.g., sitting area, grill, kids’ play space, parking)
  4. Visibility and steps taken to protect privacy — whether the resident has taken measures to shield the area from public view (such as fences or hedges)

(See: United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294 (1987); State v. Hamilton, 660 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 1995).)

Under Florida Statute § 776.013(1), the “dwelling” includes the building and its curtilage. Florida courts treat screened porches, lanais, or enclosed patios attached to the home as part of the dwelling. (See State v. Martinez, 700 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)). This means:

  • The castle doctrine protections — the legal presumption that you are in reasonable fear of imminent harm — extend to the immediate area surrounding your home.
  • If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters your porch, attached garage, or fenced yard, you may be justified in using defensive force, including deadly force, under certain circumstances.

This means you can’t shoot someone for trying to open your door, standing on your porch, or walking up the driveway. Postal workers and Amazon delivery drivers are happy about this. However, if they kick in a fence or forcibly enter through a locked portal, such as slashing a screen, they have crossed over into breaking and entering.

At that moment, under § 776.013(2), Florida law presumes you have a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily harm, because:

  • The person has unlawfully and forcibly entered your dwelling’s curtilage.
  • You are lawfully present.
  • You are not engaged in criminal activity.

That presumption legally justifies deadly force, unless one of the exceptions in § 776.013(3) applies (for example, if the intruder is a lawful resident, or if you provoked the incident, etc.).

So back to this situation: I don’t breach my perimeter for idiots. I sit safely inside and call the cops. I would be wearing electronic hearing protection and body armor. I would be armed with a long gun that has lots of ammo. Why? Because we carry a handgun if we think we might be in a gunfight. If we think we WILL be in a gunfight, bring a long gun, and bring friends with long guns. My wife would be safely in the closet, also with hearing protection, body armor, and armed.

Once the critters breach my perimeter to enter my rear yard, then enter my second perimeter to enter my back porch, this threat becomes imminent, making both my fear of harm and my use of deadly force reasonable. In a case like this, there would be at least one dead body and perhaps some blood trails for the police to follow when they eventually arrived ten minutes after I called for them.

Florida appellate courts have repeatedly found deadly force justified when:

  • An intruder broke through a fence or gate and approached the home aggressively. (State v. Giles, 579 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991))
  • A homeowner shot someone who forced entry onto a porch or patio. (Martinez, 700 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997))

In such cases, the courts held that fenced yards, porches, and patios are part of the dwelling — the “castle” — so the presumption of reasonable fear applies.

Then my homeowners’ insurance would have to replace the glass in my back door, and pay to clean the gizzards from by rear porch furniture. I might even sue the estates of the decedents for the damages to include mental anguish, if they had any assets I could take.

It’s a great reason to have a fenced yard and a screened in porch with a locked door, even if the lock is flimsy like the ones found on a screen door.

Relevant Cases

State v. Martinez, 700 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) Martinez shot an intruder who broke through a screened porch attached to his home late at night. The state argued the porch was not part of the “dwelling,” so deadly force was not justified. The court held that the attached, screened porch was part of the dwelling’s curtilage. The homeowner was protected under the castle doctrine. The court reasoned that a porch “integrated with the home’s living space” and enclosed by screens “serves the same privacy and security functions as the interior.”

State v. Hamilton, 660 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 1995) A man was shot in a fenced backyard after threatening and attempting to enter the home. The issue was whether the fenced yard counted as the home’s “curtilage.” The Florida Supreme Court held that a fenced backyard was part of the dwelling’s curtilage for self-defense and burglary statutes. The fence “manifested an intent to exclude the public and protect the area as part of the home.”

State v. Giles, 579 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) A homeowner shot a man trying to break into the house after entering the yard aggressively and ignoring commands to leave. The court found that deadly force was justified because the intruder’s actions created a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily harm. The “no duty to retreat” principle applied — the homeowner was lawfully in his dwelling.

Weiand v. State, 732 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 1999) A woman shot her abusive husband inside their shared home and was prosecuted for murder. The case helped establish Florida’s “no duty to retreat” inside one’s home rule (before Stand Your Ground). The Florida Supreme Court recognized the castle doctrine as firmly established: you are not required to retreat in your home before using deadly force against an aggressor posing imminent danger.

State v. Hill, 95 So. 3d 434 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) A man shot someone outside his home during a violent confrontation. The court examined whether the shooter could claim immunity under § 776.032 (the Stand Your Ground immunity statute). The court reaffirmed that § 776.012(2) justifies deadly force when a person reasonably believes it’s necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm — even outside the home, if the shooter has a right to be there and is not engaged in a crime.

If the intruder crossed into your yard and made explicit death threats, the standard of “reasonable fear” would almost certainly be satisfied — even if the intruder had not yet crossed the threshold.

By Divemedic, ago

Pushing Back

When my son was young, he was small for his age. He came home from school one day, upset that while playing soccer, he accidentally kicked the ball through his own team’s goal. Because of this mistake, a 5th-grade kid had physically assaulted him. He told me that this kid had been hitting him and bullying him for the past several weeks, and was telling me that he no longer wanted to go to school. I called the school and was told: “Well, there are a lot of children out there for recess, so many that the teachers can’t watch everyone, all of the time.”

I told my son that the next time someone hit him, he should defend himself. He told me that he didn’t want to get in trouble. I responded by telling him to let me worry about that. I also pointed out to him that he had been playing Pop Warner football, and the kid who had hit him was no bigger than some of the other kids on his team.

A couple of days went by before he again came home from school, this time telling me that the kid had hit him, and he had done what I told him to and beat the snot out of the other kid. My son was upset, because he had a letter telling him that he was to be suspended for fighting.

I called the school and told them that I wanted a meeting immediately. I got one for the next day.

At this meeting, the answer that I got was that they had a “zero tolerance” policy for fighting, and the result of this was all kids who fight receive 3 days of out of school suspension. I pointed out that I had come to them just the previous week and was told they couldn’t watch everyone, so why now?

“Well, we saw the fight.” I told them that they have a legal duty to keep my child safe, and when they fail in that duty, even after being told that my child was being physically attacked, they were failing in that duty. To compound this by suspending my child when he defends himself from a physical attack is the height of irresponsible behavior.

I also told them, should this discipline stand, I would be back to the school the following day with an attorney, and we would see where that would take us. I had every intention of doing so- it wasn’t an idle threat.

The suspension was lifted, and the kid never touched my son again. The best part was that my son learned a couple of important lessons that day on how not to be pushed around by others.

You can’t let bullies, in this case a child and a lazy set of school staff, run roughshod over you. You exhaust your options for a peaceful solution, but once that has been seen to its completion, you have to go on to the next step. Unless you fight back, bullying behavior will always continue. The corollary to that was eloquently stated by Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

That’s the lesson for today. I’m sure each of you understands where that line of thought leads.

By Divemedic, ago

Juneteenth

Those of us who carry guns are often told that we don’t need guns to protect ourselves, we just need to remember that the robbers are just people trying to feed their families. If we just give them what they want, we will be fine. This assumes that robbery is merely a business transaction, and depends upon a criminal threatening violence being a moral and upstanding citizen.

What if he isn’t? What if that criminal is just someone who sees other people as mere objects who are simply standing in the way of their happiness and success? Killing you is no more problematic to such a person than stepping on a bug. That’s how things like this happen- a man in Miami is robbed, and hands over the goods. They kill him anyway.

The last two posts are why:

  • I carry a gun everywhere I go.
  • I don’t go to places where there are violence and crime.
  • I avoid crowds of feral negros.
  • I pay attention to my surroundings. More than once, we have left an event because I didn’t like the vibe.

Last night, we went shopping and then to a swanky restaurant in an artsy district of a nearby town. I had a filet, my wife had garlic mussels. I was dressed in khaki slacks and a loose fitting Guayabera shirt. It hid my 9mm Shield Plus with microdot sight and my can of pepper spray very well. That gives me a less lethal option for boorish behavior, and also gives me 14 rounds of “I am not going to die unless you come with me.”

I’m not willing to bet my life, or the life of my spouse, on a criminal’s sense of good will and conscience.

By Divemedic, ago

Defense Isn’t Magic

One opinion that I have had since I was in high school is this:

I don’t care what martial art you study, what color belt you have, or how skilled you are, physical defense has limits. A 6 year old with a black belt in karate can’t beat up a full grown adult. A 100 pound woman isn’t going to beat up a 250 pound man, unless that man is in poor physical condition.

That opinion wasn’t a popular one, but it’s true. Skill can only do so much, but at the end of the day, physical strength, stamina, and size are just as important. Let me show you:

That doesn’t mean that skill is to be ignored. It means that what skills you do have should be viewed through a realistic lens. A 100 pound woman still is far outclassed in strength. That 100 pound woman believing that taking some krav maga classes is going to enable her to take on and disarm a full sized man is going to give her the overconfidence to go places and get into situations that she is not equipped to handle.

She let her classes where she practices set moves against compliant adversaries give her the false confidence that she can take on grown men armed with weapons and prevail, when in reality, she can’t even take on a man when given a distinct advantage, and in this case, the man was holding back and trying not to hurt her.

The same is true of people who carry guns. Many people only carry in “bad neighborhoods” and allow that firearm to pull them into places where they wouldn’t go if they weren’t armed.

Have a realistic idea of what training and weapons do for you, what your capabilities are, and know how and where you should be. One thing that I have learned by taking BJJ is that I have flexibility as my advantage, but I don’t have the stamina and cardio of a 23 year old any longer. In many cases, a 22 year old will be stronger and will be in condition to outlast me in a protracted fight. In any hand to hand, I must endeavor to win the fight early, because I will lose a protracted battle.

Be realistic in your own assessment of your abilities.

By Divemedic, ago

Sweat and Drinks

Sweat, or perspiration, is the primary means that humans use to cool themselves through the use of evaporative cooling. Very few mammals actually use perspiration as a cooling mechanism: in fact, other than a few primates, horses are the only mammals that use perspiration to cool down.

Sweat is 99% water. Dissolved in each liter of this water are the following minerals:

  • Sodium 900mg
  • Potassium 200 mg
  • Calcium 15 mg
  • Magnesium 1.3 mg

This means that perspiration has a much lower concentration of electrolytes than does blood. Still, as we sweat, we are not only losing water, but a lot of key electrolytes. If you are sweating heavily, you are losing more than just water, and that needs to be replaced. If you aren’t sweating heavily, then you shouldn’t have a lot of these because too many electrolytes is just as bad as not enough of them, especially if you have high blood pressure or heart failure.

There are a ton of electrolyte drinks out there: Gatorade is perhaps the most well known, but there is also Pedialyte, as well as a plethora of others. My biggest issue with many of these drinks is that they also contain an incredible amount of sugar. That’s why I only drink the zero sugar versions of these.

Gatorade has the electrolytes, but also comes with a lot of sugar. It carries 2 grams of sugar, 13.3mg of Sodium and 4.2mg of Potassium per ounce. I only drink these when I am exerting myself, and even then, I only drink the zero sugar versions. Cost is about 65 cents for a 16 ounce serving.

Liquid IV is a powder that is mixed with 16 ounces of water. When mixed, it carries 0.7 grams of sugar, 31mg of Sodium, and 23 mg of Potassium per ounce as mixed. I haven’t tried this one, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. Cost is $1.38 per 16 ounce serving.

LMNT (pronounced “element”) is another powder. It has 0.8g of sugar,16.5 mg of Sodium, and 12.5mg of Potassium per ounce as mixed. Cost is $1.30 per 16 ounce serving. I have never tried it, but I have seen advertising for it.

Pedialyte is a powder that is designed to replace electrolytes in children. It has about 0.675g of sugar, 16.25mg of Sodium, and 11.25mg of Potassium per mixed ounce. Cost is about $2 for a 16 ounce serving. I know that there are some athletes that like this stuff, but I hear that it tastes like armpit sweat.

I drink Gatoraid zero or another drink called Propel. I think they did well for me because my electrolytes were just a tiny bit low when I was in the hospital. Had I been drinking water, they would have been much lower, due to perspiration losses.

The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I don’t think that I ever will. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.

By Divemedic, ago

Stupid Pranks

I have posted about stupid pranks that the current generation is playing, thinking that placing people in fear for their lives to get views of their social media is funny. Two years ago, it was staging a scene where unsuspecting people came upon what looked like a person dressed as a clown that had just murdered someone then began chasing the prank victim.

Let me show you an example of the current trend in these so-called prank videos:

This idiot approaches people saying, “I am gonna burn your car up, bro” before pouring a liquid from a gas can onto the hood while holding a lighter, then compounding it by chasing the victim with the gas can and lighter.

I am going to shoot your ass just as quickly as I can clear leather. Then I am going to keep shooting you until you fall to the ground, and I am going to walk away without being convicted of a crime, AND I am going to be paid for my troubles. Let me explain:

It doesn’t matter that the liquid is not a flammable one, just like it doesn’t matter if a person robs you with a toy gun. What matters is the person defending themselves reasonably believes that the threat is a real one. The moron clearly indicated that it was his intent to set my car, and possibly me, on fire before pouring what appears to be a flammable liquid on my car. It’s clearly his intent to make the person being “pranked” to believe they are imminently going to be the victim of arson. After all, if that belief didn’t exist, the prank wouldn’t work as a prank. Therefore, it is reasonable for a person to believe that an arson is imminent.

In Florida, arson is a felony.

(1) Any person who willfully and unlawfully, or while in the commission of any felony, by fire or explosion, damages or causes to be damaged:

(a) Any dwelling, whether occupied or not, or its contents;

<snip irrelevant legalese>

(3) As used in this chapter, “structure” means any building of any kind, any enclosed area with a roof over it, any real property and appurtenances thereto, any tent or other portable building, and any vehicle, vessel, watercraft, or aircraft.

Not only that, but arson is also a forcible felony. In Florida, I can use deadly force to stop the imminent commission of a forcible felony. I could even argue that pouring a flammable liquid on a vehicle where I am in close proximity is a deadly threat upon my person. It doesn’t even have to be my car. It can be a car that I am standing close to. That isn’t even considering that this rocket scientist was chasing people with the gas can and lighter in his hand.

(2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.

It isn’t just vehicles. Now they have progressed to pouring a liquid from a gas can onto people.

The morons even brag about how “epic” it is that so many people were fooled.

After I shoot and kill you in self defense, every person involved in this production is now guilty of felony murder. They are also liable to me when I sue everyone involved in this so-called prank for the “emotional trauma” and PTSD I now have experienced because I had to shoot someone.

and yeah, I am going to include Youtube in the lawsuit because they allow these videos to be monetized.

By Divemedic, ago

Defense of Others?

Read this situation:

Aaron Carbo began speaking to me about the incident, where he informed me that he was approached by [REDACTED] in an aggressive manner, being asked to hurry up as he was holding other golfers up.

A “heated” argument ensued, causing Carbo to push the other person to the ground.

Carbo stated he then stood over [REDACTED] and called him a ‘pussy,’ at which time Carbo’s girlfriend pulled him away.

As Carbo was being pulled away by his girlfriend, Scott Throne ran over and punched Carbo in the face, which caused Carbo’s mouth to bleed.

Throne was arrested for battery for striking Carbo, and Carbo was arrested for battery on a person 65 years or older for striking [REDACTED]

I did a bit of editing on the original story to make it more readable, but the details are the same. Now let’s discuss my logic here:

So to me, this all comes down to the timing of the above events. If Cabo’s girlfriend had already pulled Cabo away from the altercation, and the altercation was over, then Throne was not justified in using force. If Cabo was still engaged in fighting with the elderly victim, or was attempting to do so then the altercation was not over, and Throne was legally justified in using force to stop his felonious attack on [REDACTED}.

No matter what, this case is a mess and is going to cost Throne a lot of money in legal bills.

EDITED TO ADD: So I pulled the case file from the court record, and the elderly victim was a 79 year old man. The report also reads:

Had [Scott] Throne punched him before the fight was over, then Throne would not have been arrested. As it is, getting involved is going to result in some trouble with the law. Again, better to mind your own business, especially if you aren’t sure of the law or the situation.

On a side note, Cabo is listed with the state as being a habitual felony offender.

By Divemedic, ago

Brand Wars

When it comes to the gun world, there are few things that cause disagreements more often than brand wars. I have said before, and I continue to say that there is no such thing as a brand that is perfect for everyone. There are, in my opinion, models or even brands that are too unreliable to be good for anyone.

Grip angle

The angle of a handgun’s grip to the plane of the barrel can vary from the 55 degrees of the Luger P08, to the 18 degrees of the 1911 and Smith and Wesson’s M&P autoloaders, or even 17 degrees of the old Ruger P95. Glocks have a grip angle of 22.5 degrees. Each person will have an opinion as to which one fits their and and shooting style.

Whichever grip angle is right for you will see the pistol pointing at the target without any conscious effort on your part. Here is how to check yours:

  1. Set up a target in a safe area (even if you shot it, the bullets wouldn’t go through and hit someone or something important).
  2. Unload your pistol.
  3. Present your gun at the target as though you were going to shoot it. Get a good sight picture.
  4. Lower the gun (or holster it, if you have one).
  5. Close your eyes. Present the gun again at your target.
  6. Open your eyes. Are your sights on target?
    If they’re too high, the grip angle may be too steep.
    If they’re too low, the grip angle may be too shallow.
  7. Repeat this at least 5 times to be sure you get consistent results.

If all your pistols have about the same grip angle, you won’t have to adjust your aim when switching pistols. That is why all of my carry handguns are of the M&P line. You will get the same results if all of your carry pistols are Glocks, or Springfield, etc. As log as your grip angle is consistent, you can change handguns without a problem. If you change to a new grip angle, you can figure about 1,000 rounds to adjust to the new one. Pick a grip angle you are OK with and stick with it.

Bore Axis

Another thing that matters is bore axis. The bore axis is the distance between the top of the shooter’s gripping hand and the center of the barrel. In a pistol with a hammer, this distance can be quite large.

Note that the line of where the gripping hand is is located quite a bit below the center of the barrel. This forms a lever, with the fulcrum being where the web of the thumb grips the backstrap of the pistol, and the force being applied down the center of the barrel. This force causes two types of recoil- backwards through the barrel, and a bit of muzzle flip. The larger the bore axis, the more pronounced the muzzle flip. The greater the muzzle flip, the more time it takes to get your sights back on the target for a follow up shot. For most people, this won’t really be noticeable beyond a perceived increase in recoil. 

The bore axis for the following handguns is:

  • The 1911 has a bore axis of 1.75
  • Glock 17 Gen 4 is 1.26 inches.
  • Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 is 1.41 inches
  • Sig 320 is 1.78″
  • Sig P226 is 1.80

As a general rule, striker fired pistols will have a lower bore axis than do pistols with a hammer, because the fire control group of a striker fired pistol takes up less room.

Grip Size

I have large hands and a pretty good grip strength. That means I can handle full powered handguns and double stack magazines. Not everyone funds this comfortable. Make sure that the grip of the firearm fits your hand. and easy way to do that is see if you can push in the magazine release with your gripping hand’s thumb without shifting your grip. If you can’t, that particular handgun may be to fat for your hand.

Another consideration is grip length. If you are gripping the handgun and your pinky finger is hanging in the breeze, maybe your hand is too large for that pistol. One solution is an extended magazine with a boot on it, like the ones they have on the Taurus Millenium.

Conclusion

There is a lot that goes into handgun design- the grip angle, the bore axis, the size and power of the cartridge, the weight of the handgun, and many other factors go into the perceived recoil, accuracy, and the speed of follow up shots. Combine that with the ergonomics, style, and skill of each shooter, and the interplay makes a virtual unlimited number of possible combinations, making a determination of the “best” pistol impossible.

If you don’t yet have a handgun, find a gun range that rents firearms. See if a gun owning friend will take you to the range and let you shoot a few of his guns. In short, don’t let someone else tell you what gun you should buy. The only things that should matter are:

  • Is it reliable enough to go bang every time you squeeze the trigger?
  • Can you reliably get multiple hits with it?
  • Does it fire a cartridge that passes the FBI test of 12-18 inches of gel penetration? (This generally means 300 or more foot pounds of energy)
  • Is it small enough to do what you want to do with it? (Carry, home defense, etc.)
  • Pick a gun maker that offers a lifetime warranty. The pistols that they sell are generally pretty reliable.
  • If you are a more experienced shooter, make sure that you can pass the 5 test with it- Draw and get 5 hits in a 5 inch circle at 5 yards in less than 5 seconds.

I have seen far too many gun store employees try to sell people guns that are obviously not right for them. For example, selling a small woman a tiny pink colored .357 magnum. Don’t let someone else tell you what you like and what you need. You are the only one who can determine that. Others can only guide you there, but at the end of the day, it is your decision to make.

By Divemedic, ago