imported post
xRapidDavex wrote:
Thanks for you input. I don't want this thread to die, so does anyone have an action plan different than what's been described?
Not likely. It's the best possible plan.
What other options are there? Well, if you are good at snappy comebacks, you could try that, but you'd have to be extremely careful that your comeback cannot be interpreted as a threat.
When you're carrying a deadly weapon you have much more power. That power allows you to defend yourself more effectively in a dangerous confrontation, but it also gives any threats you make much more power as well, and that means that you have to act with great reservation. Threatening someone with a deadly weapon can potentially be prosecuted as felony assault in Utah. Not only that, suppose your comeback is interpreted as a threat, and then the situation escalates to violence and you end up shooting. Under Utah law, it can be argued that you started the conflict, and the shooting will therefore be unjustifiable, even if the other guy pulled a knife or a gun.
You don't have a legal duty to retreat from a deadly threat, but because you're carrying deadly force, you do have a legal duty to avoid starting a fight. I think it would be very difficult to respond effectively to a taunt without saying something that could be interpreted as starting a fight.
Your very best option is to say as little as possible without being rude, and to disengage from the encounter. Anything else is risky.