by Glenn Ferren, St. Regis
There is a Second Amendment case in Montana you should pay attention to.
The second amendment question in this case, can you use a firearm in self-defense IF you don’t fire a kill shot ?
Some will find it interesting that the US Department of Justice in an article in 1998 advocated for “warning shots” and the International Association of Chiefs of Police has a section on policy in 2017 under deadly force restrictions that recommends “warning shots” , when it reduces the possibility that deadly force will have to be used. And in a case in Ohio in 2024, the headline is “Warning Shot Enough for Jury to Consider Self-Defense Claim”… A Clark County man was entitled to argue self-defense when he intentionally shot toward a person, and was not required to show he intended to kill or harm the man who threatened him, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today ….”the Ohio self-defense law does not require an intent to harm or kill another, just the “intent to repel or escape force.” Shooting toward another with the intent to stop an aggressor is sufficient to justify a self-defense jury instruction, she concluded.
Montana Law: 45-3-102. Use of force in defense of person. A person is justified in the use of force or threat to use force against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that the conduct is necessary for self-defense or the defense of another against the other person’s imminent use of unlawful force. The Case: Jury Trial – DC-24-32 – Assault with weapon – 03/24/2025 9:00am Fourth Judicial District Court, Mineral County…a person convicted of assault with a weapon shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 20 years or be fined not more than $50,000.