[Notorious Y-A-R]

Hey all. Being a high school student, I've had my fair share of parties at my place. The last party I threw, I had some issues with uninvited guests showing up randomly and a few semi-valuable things mysteriously disappeared . This upcoming weekend I'm having a relatively big party (30+ people) over at my house. I know there's a fairly good chance that these shady characters might show up again, so I'm going to be checking EVERYONE before they come inside. I know some people might have issue with this, and I'd rather not have to call the cops in order to remove people from my property, so my buddy and I are going to be putting our paintball guns fully loaded by the door in case we have an issue with anyone. I do own actual guns, but I'd rather not be messing around with a fully loaded lethal weapon when I'm trying to have a good time, and I'm not that interested in going to jail because I pointed a shotgun at some punks who wont leave my property.

My question: Can I legally shoot these people in non-lethal places (legs, lower center mass, backs, etc.) if they continually refuse to leave my property and threaten to go inside whether I like it or not?

[lime3]

Home invasion is the crime of entering a private and occupied dwelling, with the intent of committing a crime, often while threatening the resident of the dwelling. It is not a legally defined offense (federally) in the United States, but may be in Australia, and New Zealand, and applies even if entry is not forced. It can also apply if someone is invited into a home and remains on the premises after being asked to leave by the resident.

A Castle Doctrine (also known as a Castle Law or a Defense of Habitation Law) is an American legal doctrine that arose from English Common Law[1] that designates one's place of residence (or, in some states, any place legally occupied, such as one's car or place of work) as a place in which one enjoys protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack. It then goes on to give a person the legal right to use deadly force to defend that place (his/her "castle"), and/or any other innocent persons legally inside it, from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack. In a legal context, therefore, use of deadly force which actually results in death may be defended as justifiable homicide under the Castle Doctrine.

An intruder must be making (or have made) an attempt to unlawfully and/or forcibly enter an occupied home, business or car.
The intruder must be acting illegally—e.g. the Castle Doctrine does not give the right to attack officers of the law acting in the course of their legal duties
The occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to inflict serious bodily harm or death upon an occupant of the home
The occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to commit some other felony, such as arson or burglary
The occupant(s) of the home must not have provoked or instigated an intrusion, or provoked or instigated an intruder to threaten or use deadly force
The occupant(s) of the home may be required to attempt to exit the house or otherwise retreat (this is called the "Duty to retreat" and most self-defense statutes referred to as examples of "Castle Doctrine" expressly state that the homeowner has no such duty)

Other states expressly relieve the home's occupants of any duty to retreat or announce their intent to use deadly force before they can be legally justified in doing so to defend themselves. Clauses that state this fact are called "Stand Your Ground", "Line In The Sand" or "No Duty To Retreat" clauses, and state exactly that the defender has no duty or other requirement to abandon a place in which they have a right to be, or to give up ground to an assailant.

I dont know where you live, but
Adoption by States
Alabama,[9] Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah[10] West Virginia and Wyoming have adopted Castle Doctrine statutes, and other states (Montana, Nebraska (http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5348), New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington) are currently considering "Stand Your Ground" laws of their own.

[frontman75]

just try not to hit them in they eye, other than that have fun!

[NightKreeper]

heres why i think this is a bad idea...
1. you live in California.
2. you are underage.
3. you are having a house party that you're probably not supposed to have, in a house that isn't yours. with a bunch of high school kids no less.
4. what makes you think your pb guns won't get stolen or some idiot will pick it up and start shooting people?

[imgonnadie]

Yeah I'm not sure how the Cali thing will work out for you....

Another thing is:

Are you using pepperballs/ riot rounds? Because:

A PB gun (loaded with paintballs) will only anger them if they're determined. If you've ever been bonusballed by someone on purpose you know what I'm talking about. And if they're determined and weilding knives/ packing, things can turn ugly. Better to identify them and call the cops. If they're petty theives they'd most likely leave. Aggravating them with paintballs might cause more harm to you then good.

Leaving it at the door is also a bad idea. As mentioned, someone other than you might get their hands on it. Especially if drinking is involved.

If you CAN have it as home defence. The most I would suggest is to have a gassed pistol around, and a mag loaded with pepperballs/ riot rounds. Keep the mag on yourself and the pistol unloaded but gassed, at a easily accessible place. At least if a moron takes it and fools around he'd only be shooting CO2 at your guests.

[phoenixsun]

Always use a golf club or baseball bat.

If you use a paintball gun people will cite it as an example of why paintball should be grouped as a firearm etc.

If you beat someone with a golf club or baseball bat, you never hear of pending legislation to register or ban golf clubs and baseball bats. Despite the fact they are used in assaults. You are going to get sued by the 'intruder' anyway, don't drag our hobby/sport into it.

[WillBunkerforFood]

Did you ever think about NOT having a party? Just a suggestion. Also, you are entering dangerous waters. In Texas you might be able to blow the brains out of anyone on your property, but in most states that is not the case. For example, in Illinois (where I live) it is a home owners primary responsibility to flee the scene in the event of a home invasion. It is only if a homeowner or other guest of the house is unable to flee the situation safely that they are allowed to use force in order to protect their property. Now Illinois is a pretty liberal state, so I am going to venture a guess that California has a similar stance. So here's what you are looking at: You throw an illegal house party. As all of us who have been to high school know, whenever there is a gathering of more than 5 people and alcohol is involved, uninvited people will show up. Since you are opening your home to underage drinking (and probably marijuana too, c'mon, this is high school in Cali) you are breaking the law. Someone shows up that you don't like, so you shower them in paintballs. If I were the cop that showed up, I would arrest you for Facilitating the Delinquency of a Child, Underage Possession of Alcohol, Aggravated Assault (with a deadly weapon maybe) and if I was a super douche, a noise complaint. My guess is all charges get dropped EXCEPT the Aggravated Assault, so you're looking at serious trouble. Basically you are taking a GIANT gamble in order to get a couple of immature *******s drunk. Use your brain and go drink in the woods if it's so important to get wasted. At least there you'll just getting a drinking ticket, or trespassing at worst.

tl/dr:
-Most states do not allow for lethal/non-lethal force is safe escape is an option
-Throwing an underage party implies your consent to have shady people in your home
-Shooting paintballs at people you "consented" to have in your home is assault, possibly aggravated or with a deadly weapon
-You go to juvie
-Don't be a moron, don't have the party at your house

[eNvMe]

Originally Posted by phoenixsun

Always use a golf club or baseball bat.

If you use a paintball gun people will cite it as an example of why paintball should be grouped as a firearm etc.

If you beat someone with a golf club or baseball bat, you never hear of pending legislation to register or ban golf clubs and baseball bats. Despite the fact they are used in assaults. You are going to get sued by the 'intruder' anyway, don't drag our hobby/sport into it.

.