Question About Gun/Self-Defense Rights in TN

[OneQuestionAccount]

I live in Memphis, TN. Recently, I attended a small solidarity protest to call for the arrest of Breonna Taylor's killers. At the end of the protest, two men started shouting insults down at myself and other protestors from a second story window. A "back and forth" followed, though the two men were never threatened by the protestors. At a certain point in the "back and forth" one of the men left the window, and the other explained to the protestors that his friend was about to come downstairs to the street. The "back and forth" continued for another five minutes or so until the door below the men's window (which was at street level) opened, and the man who had previously left the window stepped outside, raised a pistol, pointed it at me and held it there for about three seconds, then proceeded to point the pistol at several other protestors (for a total of maybe ten seconds pointing the weapon) before closing the door and going back inside.

I was unarmed that night, but my question is: had I legally owned a weapon with the proper permit and been carrying it at the time (most likely concealed), would I have been within my rights to pull out said weapon and fire at the man who pointed a gun at me? Assuming I did fire and hit him, either seriously injuring or killing him, would I be looking at potential jail time?

Thank you for your time.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the law:

https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2019/title-39/chapter-11/part-6/section-39-11-611/

If you shot at, injured or killed an armed person, yes, you could be arrested and spend some time in jail. You would want a criminal defense attorney to help you with your claim of self-defense, which could be easy to argue depending on all facts. See (e)(2), however, which could cause you problems.

 

[adjusterjack]

I was unarmed that night, but my question is: had I legally owned a weapon with the proper permit and been carrying it at the time (most likely concealed), would I have been within my rights to pull out said weapon and fire at the man who pointed a gun at me? Assuming I did fire and hit him, either seriously injuring or killing him, would I be looking at potential jail time?

Sure, you would have been right. Dead right. With a gun pointed in your direction you probably couldn't draw and fire before the bullet hit you. Real life doesn't work the way.

The time to avoid getting shot is to walk away before the "back and forth" starts.

 

[OneQuestionAccount]

"See (e)(2), however, which could cause you problems."

Saw that, but like I said no one ever threatened them or attempted to taunt them into coming down. In fact, when the man at the window said "Hold on, he's about to come outside" I told him to tell his friend not to do that because it would only escalate the situation.

 

[Just Blue]

This didn't answer the question at all. I asked for legal advice not your condescending opinion. You can take that somewhere else, thanks.

What was "condescending" about Quincys post to you??????

 

[OneQuestionAccount]

What was "condescending" about Quincys post to you??????

Quincy's account was not condescending and was helpful. Someone else posted a condescending reply and must have deleted it within the last few minutes. About to delete that message, no worries

 

[OneQuestionAccount]

Here is a link to the law:

https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2019/title-39/chapter-11/part-6/section-39-11-611/

If you shot at, injured or killed an armed person, yes, you could be arrested and spend some time in jail. You would want a criminal defense attorney to help you with your claim of self-defense, which could be easy to argue depending on all facts. See (e)(2), however, which could cause you problems.

I'm also concerned about the fact that he was technically on his property. Is that fact overridden by him pointing a weapon at me and others, assuming he was not provoked?

 

[Just Blue]

Quincy's account was not condescending and was helpful. Someone else posted a condescending reply and must have deleted it within the last few minutes. About to delete that message, no worries

Ahhh...I see now. No, whoever posted after Q didn't delete his/her comment, it was reported. The posting count goes from 2 to 4 with 3 missing. That only happens if a post is reported. Did you report the post?

 

[OneQuestionAccount]

Ahhh...I see now. No, whoever posted after Q didn't delete his/her comment, it was reported. The posting count goes from 2 to 4 with 3 missing. That only happens if a post is reported. Did you report the post?

Ah okay. Yeah I reported it because it didn't answer the question at all. He basically just said "You're dumb for thinking about pulling out a gun. You should have walked away," complete with a clip from a Tom Cruise movie for some reason. It just had nothing to do with legal advice.

 

[quincy]

"See (e)(2), however, which could cause you problems."

Saw that, but like I said no one ever threatened them or attempted to taunt them into coming down. In fact, when the man at the window said "Hold on, he's about to come outside" I told him to tell his friend not to do that because it would only escalate the situation.

I'm also concerned about the fact that he was technically on his property. Is that fact overridden by him pointing a weapon at me and others, assuming he was not provoked?

If you are in a place where you are legally entitled to be (e.g., public property) doing nothing illegal, you could have a legitimate self-defense argument if you shot a person who was aiming a gun at you, this if you feared for your life and this regardless of where the person is who is threatening you (private property or not).

But you would need a very good criminal defense attorney to argue your defense if you were charged with a crime.

As a note: The person who first points a loaded gun at someone who is on public property and not doing anything illegal can be charged with a felony offense, this whether shots are fired or the gun-wielder is on their own property or not.