Pointing a revolver at the wall, Colandro demonstrates what he calls the vulture stance—shoulders hunched up, arms thrust forward, confronting the intruder.
“Don’t move!” he shouts. “I got a gun! I’ll blow your head off!”
In a crisis, Colandro explains, an authoritative voice and body language are as important as the gun itself. Even if the intruder is standing right in front of you, announce that you have a gun—it might be dark, the intruder could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and in any case, the warning puts you in a better legal position.
“The best thing you could ever hope for is that the perpetrator breaks and flees,” he says.
“Nobody wants to use a firearm.”
If the intruder doesn’t flee, the next step is to bark out commands: “Sit on the ground! Lock your hands behind your head and stay there!”
Startled by Colandro’s booming voice, a few customers turn to look. Colandro tells the couple, “It’s gonna be very hard to [get the intruder to comply], especially if he’s crazed.”
“So just shoot them,” says Steven, a man of medium build with a few days of dirty-blonde stubble.
“No,” Colandro says, with the barest hint of exasperation.
“Why not? They’re in your house. You have every right to.”
“But you’re not in clear and imminent danger,” Colandro says patiently.
“That’s ridiculous,” says Miriam. “If there’s a stranger in my house, I’m gonna have to shoot them.”
“I’m just telling you the law,” Colandro says. “Prosecutor’s gonna say, ‘Why didn’t you hit him with something? Why did you have to use deadly force?’”
Steven is unfazed. “I’m not a lawyer,” he says after the lesson, “but if someone breaks into my home, they’re getting shot. Period.”
The forum contains a specific debate section. This is not it.
