What would you do, ladies, if a man with a rifle was attempting to drug and rape you? I would highly suggest shooting the perp as soon as you recognize the threat. There are, of course, non-ballistic alternatives. If you don’t have a gun, use those. But if you do, you are well within your rights to perforate the perp. Best case: you have a gun. Because the scenario described above is an anomaly. If you’re disarmed . . .

odds are you won’t have the chance to call the police until after a sexual assault. If then. How long did it take for the cops to arrive? Not specified. But it was a lot longer than immediately. As they say, when seconds count the police are only minutes away. Not to coin a phrase, keep calm and carry on.

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25 COMMENTS

    • You might be surprised. Enhanced 911 is supposed to use cell phone telemetry data to help dispatchers know your location. In some cases they may only be able to narrow down your location to a large circle of mile or more. In other cases they may be able to determine your exact location. It all depends on where you are and what telemetry data is available.

      • If you’re in a big city that has the newest services , just call UBER GUN SERVICE or 1-800-drop-you . They are usually right there beside , in front or behind you .

    • I participated in a test with my local 911 center to determine the location of my old, non-GPS phone. It took about 15 seconds for the dispatcher to tell me where I was, and her estimate was close enough that a cop could have heard me shout from there.

      Still, it’s best to know where you are, relative to the nearest intersection.

    • Triangulation can be imprecise. If they attempt to triangulate based on receive signal strength, intervening foliage, buildings, and terrain can majorly impact receive signal and hence the accuracy of any triangulation.

      And if only one cell tower can “hear” your signal, well then they cannot really triangulate at all. I suppose they could estimate your general location based on signal strength and which set of directional panels can “hear” your phone. I have no idea if the cell companies ever actually implemented such a locating algorithm.

  3. UC: Perhaps, I could have chosen a better term than “triangulate”. However, I’ve seen cellphones located, within seconds, by mapping software with precision accuracy.

    • Usually yes, this is true. GPS can’t get a fix if there’s no clear view of the sky – Triangulation based off cell towers requires at least 2 towers, 3 is better. Phones also give locations based on surrounding Wifi points (one of the reasons google was snarfing up all the wifi data with their mapping cars).

      But, There’s times where your call bounces to a different PSAP then expected for whatever reason – The 911 call center “could” be in a different county or city and not have map data for your location. That happens fairly frequently in rural areas, especially on County borders. Computers crash – we try to minimize it of course, but the software/hardware is never perfect. and if the map happens to crash for whatever reason….

      Just like everything else, you’re responsible for yourself. You should know where you are. You should know how to protect yourself.

      • I lost my phone a few days ago. I used google’s “Where’s my phone?” service, and even answering security questions it was down to a quarter of a city block within twenty seconds. Once I gave my final answer, and permission to turn on the wifi function remotely, they had the location within twenty feet.

        There ought to be an option for allowing the police to find your phone in an emergency. In my case, just the initial general location would have been enough to tell the police which way to go.

    • Probably capable but you would have to be a terrorist or serial killer or major gun collector before they would care enough , you just ain’t that important . A personal friend of mine who happens to be a cop and a nice guy , if you can believe it (sarc) , in response to a comment I made about civil police being our 1st line of defense against tyranny , said , and I quote ,” Your hip would be you’re 1st line of defense “.

  4. In Minnesota you would NOT be within your legal rights to shoot someone trying to rape you. As rape doesn’t count as threat of death or great bodily harm.

    Not saying it’s right, just what the facts are.

    In this case, the guy has a rifle, so yes, you could shoot him.

    • In Minnesota the act of sexual assault in the 1st degree is a justifiable reason to use deadly force. Threat of death or great bodily harm is implied if the victim tries to resist. Plus such a situation almost always involves significant disparity of force (male much stronger than female). Please cite the statute which supports your claim.

      • There is no statute; that is an absurd statement. Forcible rape is a violent felony in all fifty states and lethal force is a justified deterrent, period.

      • Minnesota Statute 609.065 JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE.The intentional taking of the life of another is not authorized by section 609.06, except when necessary in resisting or preventing an offense which the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or death, or preventing the commission of a felony in the actor’s place of abode.

        Rape (as stupid as this is) doesn’t count as “great bodily harm”.

        Don’t shoot the messenger.

        • Rape, 1st through 4th degrees, are felonies in Minnesota, so it would appear to count under that. Also, an imminent rape would would easily be defensible under ” the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm”. How unreasonable, and/or crappy are the juries and lawyers in Minnesota?

        • If an attempted rape occurs outside your own home, by a stranger, shoot him dead and leave him with his dick hanging out. Nobody will search for his killer.

  5. As a member of a police department I have to say I couldn’t agree more. I’ll get to you as quickly as I can but the reality of it is it won’t be quickly enough. Armed citizens are the best defense.

  6. Almost anyone is physically stronger than me. 🙂 I don’t have a cell phone, but I do carry a 9mm and keep a trauma kit in the car. That will have to do. I can call 911 later, or someone standing around with a cell can do so – though cell service is still quite unreliable outside of cities and along major highways. Where I live, response time can be figured in hours sometimes, and most of the deputies I know would MUCH rather we didn’t wait for them. I understand there is a lot more paperwork involved with a murder than with a DGU homicide.

    Seems to me that anyone who isn’t actually capable of defending themselves, for whatever reason, really ought to hire someone who can and will. Might make a dent in the unemployment figures in some places anyway. 🙂

    • You’re duty to protect yourself ( smileyface) is you’re first priority as a citizen ( smileyface ) and you should not expect anyone ( smileyface ) to put themselves in jeopardy because you are too weak to protect yourself , as long as we have a right to do so ( smileyface ) . If we all relinquish our protection to others then we lose it ( smileyface )

      • Hmm… which part of what I wrote led you to believe that I depend on anyone else to defend me? 🙂

        In fact, I was talking with someone in town recently. She asked why I carried a gun and I told her about my moral and practical obligation to defend myself. Then I asked her what she’d do if someone attacked us right then and there. She frowned for a moment, then smiled. “I’d get behind you,” she said.”

        Some people just will never “get it.” Which is why they should hire a bodyguard.

        PS: I reject the “citizen” thing completely. A citizen is owned by the territory of which they profess to be a citizen. I own myself.

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