You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I live in NC where carrying a handgun openly doesn't require a permit, only to purchase one. The fact that it was concealed at the time was debatable because I was on private property and the gun was kept in plain view while I was driving. This "could" be taken one way or another were a lawyer to argue it in court, but in my eyes and those of the detaining officer and detectives I was within the scope of the law for these actions.

And it's very true that if I were not in a southern- or at the very least a conservative state- the outcome of my innocence may have been questioned more thoroughly. Don't get me wrong- I got the 3rd degree while I was in the hospital getting tests done, but it was fairly evident that my injuries and as you stated- the ability to flee or otherwise avoid the situation did come into question. I alrady suffer from severe back problems as well as recurrent blood clots (DVTs) and over the years I've come to the point where I have to use a cane about 50% of the time at my ripe 'ole age of 26.

As far as their explanation to me once the handcuffs were taken off were the somewhat comforting words of "You've got nothing to worry about. You did the right thing." Which doesn't mean that the other party couldn't press charges, but I did go home knowing that the 'state' wasn't going to. In fact, the officer told me that I could initiate a warrant myself and press charges and to get a restraining order. The stupid thing is- I want/ed this to go away so I didn't want to pre-emptively press charges, but I thought a restraining order wouldn't be a bad idea not knowing the extent of his wound- but knowing that he did have a screw or two loose. Well, apparently the police and the magistrate don't communicate very well because when I went there (to the magistrate's office) they told me that I had to be pressing charges on someone in order to get a restraining order. Clearly the magistrate could see that one whole side of my head was almost twice the size of the other!

But anyways, I hope I answered your questions; if you have any more or want to talk about it farther that's fine. A month ago it would've been a different story...even now I must go and take a valium and/or a xanax...

Take Care,

Rusty