Albany County Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford agreed with the prosecutor that there was probable cause that Kelver committed assault.

Last September, Ríhanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, preparing to start her bartending shift, when she noticed a group of men across the street. One of them was shouting in her direction, and Kelver heard several homophobic and transphobic slurs as he began approaching her. Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone.

Kelver responded by drawing a pistol from her bag, chambering a round, and pointing the weapon at the man who had pushed her. She kept the safety on and never fired. The man and his companions retreated.

Today, Kelver, a 28-year-old trans woman, faces two felony charges—aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent—which could carry up to 15 years in prison. The man who shoved Kelver and who allegedly initiated the confrontation, known only as “S. Durham,” has not been charged.

  • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
    64·
    5 days ago

    That’s bullshit, it completely ignores escalation of force. If drawing the weapon causes your attackers to back down and run away, it worked as intended and no further escalation is needed.

    Any laws intended to compel one to fire is stupid beyond measure.

    • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
      7·
      4 days ago

      You are absolutely right. But you forgot a tiny detail, we are talking about the US of A. Which law there is not stupid beyond measure?

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
      3·
      4 days ago

      The thought behind “always shoot to kill if you draw” comes from 2 main places. One is a misunderstanding, and the other is sociopathic bullshit.

      The first is that you should only draw on someone if you have already made the decision to use lethal force to defend yourself, which is absolutely correct. Drawing without intent to shoot the assailant is aggravated assault, not self-defense. And if you don’t intend to kill someone you shouldn’t be shooting them.

      But that logic skips the part where situations can change rapidly. You can decide to use lethal force and change your mind before pulling the trigger.

      The second place the mindset comes from is a legal liability standpoint. If you draw on them and don’t kill them, you may be prosecuted for aggravated assault. If you kill them you can claim you feared for your life, and they won’t be able to testify against you. That’s the sociopath version.