Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 162
for self-defense. This section establishes that a person is legally
justified in using force against another “when and to the degree
the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary
to protect the actor against the other’s use or attempted use of
unlawful force.”
Likewise, Section 9.32(a) establishes the general standard for the
justified use of deadly force. The first requirement is that force must
be justified under Section 9.31; a person must legally be able to use
force before the law will ever allow deadly force to be justified.
Thereafter, a person is legally justified in using deadly force for selfdefense “when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the
deadly force is immediately necessary” to protect himself or herself
against another’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force.
As discussed previously, what a person believes is immediately
necessary and whether that belief is reasonable is the difference
between justification (not guilty) and conviction (guilty).
Who decides whether an actor’s belief that force or deadly force is
immediately necessary is reasonable? Who decides if the degree
of force used by someone was reasonable under a particular set of
circumstances? The answer to both of these questions is typically
the jury.
Therefore, if a person finds himself or herself facing a criminal
charge and is claiming self-defense under the general self-defense
provisions of Sections 9.31 and 9.32, the jury will decide if that
person’s belief was or was not reasonable regarding the immediate
necessity of the use of force or deadly force. As can be imagined,
this leaves a lot of room for juries to interpret what actions are
reasonable or not. It also leaves the door open for legal second-
When Can I Legally Use My Gun: Part II | 151
