Wyoming’s “Stand Your Ground” law says you don’t have to run from a confrontation before defending yourself. That is what Rihanna Kelver and her counsel are asking a Laramie judge to consider as they seek protection from prosecution in a felony case stemming from a confrontation outside the Crowbar.
Witnesses say she had her hand at her hip like she was ready to draw a weapon as she approached. She also drew as they were leaving (the push was pushing her out of the way).
And while approaching someone isn’t inherently an aggressive action, insulting someone is. Approaching a stranger who is insulting you is escalating things by confronting them.
She also didn’t do herself any favors by claiming she pulled a non-existent knife.
But let’s swap the genders here, like someone else in the thread said. If a group of black women started calling a white guy a racist, then he went out of his way to confront them about it and got shoved, would we be cool with him pulling a gun? Would we be saying he was just standing his ground?
I didn’t see anything saying that she had her hand on her hip ready to draw, but even if true, so what.
I don’t live in a state with these kind of gun laws, but in her state them’s the rules. Personally I think getting physical with someone in any way is a big escalation, it’s literally a use of force. Force should be reasonably appropriate and somewhat equal, i.e. you don’t get to shoot someone for bumping into you at the store (or shoot someone who is not or is no longer a threat, possibly like this situation). You might say the guy had no weapons and simply pushed her, but the fact remains that she returned his force with none. It could have been the case that she got pushed over and then the guy goes to kick or stomp her in which case I think shooting is appropriate. I think the brandishing charge is probably bullshit, because it doesn’t seem like she was waving around the gun to intimidate or threaten someone. It sounds like she took out the gun to use it during a physical altercation and then didn’t when she realized it was not necessary.
No need to swap genders or substitute ideologically different people, I’m cool with a legally-carried gun being pulled during a defensive physical fight every time. You said that insulting someone is an inherently aggressive action, and sure I’ll mostly agree, but the big difference is that it’s legal. Insults are fist amendment protected speech most of the time, pushing someone is battery.
And it appears that Wyoming considers approaching someone who has had words with you is an escalation.
Brandishing a weapon is… I don’t konw if it’s a use of force or some other classification, but there are laws against that.
It sounds to me that the court will consider all the arguments and come to whatever conclusion the law specifies. Or maybe it won’t and the law should be changed, or… dunno. Just responding to two minor things you said that I thought required minor replies. :)