If you have a generator outside during a power outage, how can you legally protect it? What law would allow you to point a firearm at a looter who is attempting to steal your stuff? In order to protect your survival equipment, it must be within ‘curtilage’ , according to Jon Gutmacher, the attorney who is the author of FLORIDA FIREARMS Law, Use & Ownership.
As a general rule of thumb — if you’re concerned whether you can display your firearm if you see someone who might be trying to steal it, and it is not already inside a fenced area — perhaps the quick solution is to erect a temporary fence that attaches to the main dwelling house and surrounds the generator. It must be at least 3 feet high, but can be as simple as using chain or heavy rope between short posts — as a temporary fence. You can even have an opening, although I think it legally smarter that any opening be closed when not attended. Even if you can step over it — as long as it is at least 3 feet high — it’s within “curtilage”. That way, any unlawful entry into the gated area is a “burglary” and a forcible felony, and display of a firearm and a verbal threat should be totally lawful.