Raven, as randjack said, I, too, do not want to get into a pissing match. It's not necessarily a question of the non-lethal load being illegal, but a question of litigious liability. In today's world, you can be sued for yelling at a burgular. No, they might not win, but you might spend about $70,000 defending yourself (which happens to be a current estimate for defending yourself in a righteous shooting).

People should think twice before pulling the trigger and it's always best to run when you can. But if you must make a stand, IMHO and the NRA instructors who lead our course in home defense, if you draw your gun, you'd better shoot to kill. If you didn't want to kill him/her, then your life was not in danger. It is much more difficult to defend an attempt at wounding someone, than it is to defend your actions in an attempt to kill them, or in fact, killing them. If you attempt to wound, then your life must not have been in danger...and they'll eat you alive!

If you draw your gun, your life, or the life of someone in proximity to you, had better be in danger. Or you have no business drawing that gun. A non-lethal response, to the jurors (12 people too stupid to find a way out of jury duty), could come across as you were pissed, but not in fear for your life. And remember, a non-lethal response can be interpreted as attempted homicide. As the leutenant who ran that portion of the course explained, "When cops show up at your house, at 3AM, and there's a body on the floor, they're looking for a murderer and you're it. And they'll do everything they can to prove you did it and send you to jail, because that's their job." Scary, isn't it?

Reason: is there a non-lethal weapon that if used incorrectly could not in fact inflict a fatal wound? Your sand bags to the chest could strike a temple and cause brain injury, leading to death, or worse a coma! This of course depends on the condition of the attacker. But if a young child can die on an amusement ride, anything is possible. If that weapon has the potential to kill, then you are screwed anyway. What's important is using a force that is equal to or justifiably greater than your assailant. But again, if your life is not in danger, you shouldn't pull the gun. And if you pull the gun, you'd better mean to kill someone. Again, IMHO, run like hell if you can! Lock yourself and family in a room, face the door, and call 911.

I was not advocating reloads for self-defense either, as you are correct they'll hang you for sure. Hell, just using a Colt Python could hurt becuase that's a "killer" snake. Thank you for clarifyin that, because I wouldn't want anyone using reloads.

Last piece of friendly advice to everyone. Practice!!! Get to the range as often as you can. Sign and date the targets and have a range officer sign them as well. Thiss, too, will come in handy at trial. It shows you were responsible as a gun owner. However, this can backfire. Citizens certified in the use of firearms are held to a higher standard in the use of firearms, than are those who have no formal training. Basically, the more you know, the better your legal and physical judgement and abilities are expected to be.

We're on the wrong side of this whole mess. The bottom line is would you prefer to be carried by 6 or judged by 12?