Are we tired of listening to this (sometimes) well intended but useless piece of dangerous advice given to victims of domestic violence?
This news item from WSVN shows Ernest Burch, accused of not only domestic violence but of violating the previously placed restraining order against him, resisting with enough strength that takes three no-quite-small men to subdue. Now imagine a regular-sized woman trying to deal with such a mammoth unleashed. It us not only silly but suicidal.
If you are an abused woman, by all means use all the legal remedies offered to you and those include the right to defend yourself with whatever tool will be the most effective to attack your legally restrained abuser: A gun.
And no, it will not guarantee you 100% effectiveness, but it does beat harsh language and supplications to spare your life.
I always recommend both! In most of America you can get the gun faster, which is ideal as the gun can actually STOP an attacker, paperwork just makes suggestions.
But restraining orders are VERY useful, they can send a crystal clear message to even the thickest of abusers, and possibly give the most arrogant a shot of reality.
But the big #1 is if you ever have to defend lethal force in a court of law, having that paper trail AND noting that the attacker was in clear violation of the law at the time of their death/wounding, will make an already traumatized victim’s case so much easier to argue!
I agree, I would think that having that piece of paper creates layers of protection in the event that one finds themselves in court for shooting a known, abusive individual.
By itself, it is just a piece of paper. If the abuser / attacker isn’t afraid of the repercussions of violating the court order, then it doesn’t make anyone any safer. It is the people that are genuinely afraid of going to prison for violating the order that it protects against. Truth be told, though, I would be more concerned about the people that aren’t afraid of violating the order.
Chances are if you had to get a restraining order at all, you probably need more than just that. After all, something made you fearful enough to think it was beyond a normal quarrel with a partner.