If you are going to practice armed, self-defense, you must know and follow relevant laws and procedures both in the jurisdictions where you live, as well as in any jurisdiction where you travel with a self-defense gun.

     Remember - you live in multiple jurisdictions (state, county, town, etc.) and each jurisdiction may have its own rules and regulations covering armed, self-defense.

     Generally speaking, most jurisdictions utilize five criteria for determining whether you behaved correctly if you committed an act of armed, self-defense or threatened to commit such an act. 

     These criteria are:

        1. Innocence.  The armed-force user was not the initial aggressor and    did not initiate the incident which resulted in the use or threat of using armed force.       

        2.  Imminence.  The incident which led to the use or threat to use armed force happened in real time and was not a future speculative event.

        3.  Proportionate.  The level of force was proportionate to the force used or threatened by the aggressor. For example, you cannot justify using armed force in response to a verbal insult or threat which is not accompanied by an actual show of force.

        4. Retreat. In some jurisdictions, protecting yourself with armed force can only happen after an attempt is made to retreat from the scene.

        5.  Reasonableness.  Your overall behavior must be how a 'reasonable' individual would behave in a similar situation.

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