I hope this is the right place to ask this question:
To what extent are you obligated to take a beating from anyone in Washington state?
Let's say you are at the store buying something. Someone doesn't like you, or whatever you are doing and mouths off you to. An "FU" "FU Too" conversation breaks out, and then someone punches you in the face. Assuming you are just standing there, Are you obligated to take another punch, or can you then defend yourself (to include deadly force?) At what point are you justified in pulling your gun?
DO NOT misunderstand me. I don't advocate shooting anyone, and I feel unholstering a firearm should be a very last resort.
However, there is no duty to retreat in WA, and I cant help but be curious about this type of situation.
You can take some guidance here, but there are many threads that have discussed this. Your question is "do you have to take another punch?" and "at what point are you justified in pulling your gun?"
Somewhere in here it seems to me that the "perp" needs to be committing a felony level assault to meet any threshold that you are describing to pull a weapon. If you engage in the "FU", "Oh yeah, yo' momma" "bring it on then" argument, you could be in the soup as having "escalated" the situation. The open carry pamphlet has this:
"2. Unlawful carrying (RCW 9.41.270) occurs when the person carries or displays a weapon “in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place that either manifests an intent to intimidate another or that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons.” This is something more than just walking around with an exposed firearm. If there is a dispute, for example, and one person, while angry, displays the weapon to scare the other person."
....if he is just mouthing off, you'll have to exercise some judgment on how it is escalating. I try to stay out of someone's swing radius or will move to do so...If that means I'm backing up, I'm not "retreating", I'm just working to get a tactical advantage in an escalating situation so that I can figure out what's next.
An open (verbal) threat of "I'm going to kick your ass" may not meet the felony assault threshold unless a weapon or threat of great bodily harm is there to meet the requirement in WA, Someone saying "I'm gonna choke the living crap out of you".... may under 036.021.g, but it may be hard to prove unless they actually grab you. "give me your wallet or I'm gonna cut you and take your women" may meet the threat threshold, especially if he has his hands in his hoodie and he outweighs you by 30 or 40lbs and has you by 10 years.....but then again, he may just be holding up his pants.....anyway, for what it's worth...IAJAAL
You'll have to make the call under duress...good luck with that.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.270
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.230
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.36
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.36.011
RCW 9A.36.011
Assault in the first degree.
(1) A person is guilty of assault in the first degree if he or she, with intent to inflict great bodily harm:
(a) Assaults another with a firearm or any deadly weapon or by any force
or means likely to produce great bodily harm or death; or
(b) Administers, exposes, or transmits to or causes to be taken by another, poison, the human immunodeficiency virus as defined in chapter 70.24 RCW, or any other destructive or noxious substance; or
(c) Assaults another and inflicts great bodily harm.
(2) Assault in the first degree is a class A felony.
First, second, fourth degree assaults are all felonies...
More guidance:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.16.020
RCW 9A.16.020
Use of force — When lawful.
(2) Whenever necessarily used by a person arresting one who has committed a felony and delivering him or her to a public officer competent to receive him or her into custody;
(3) Whenever used by a party about to be injured, or by another lawfully aiding him or her, in preventing or attempting to prevent an offense against his or her person, or a malicious trespass, or other malicious interference with real or personal property lawfully in his or her possession,
in case the force is not more than is necessary;
(4) Whenever reasonably used by a person to detain someone who enters or remains unlawfully in a building or on real property lawfully in the possession of such person, so long as such detention is reasonable in duration and manner to investigate the reason for the detained person's presence on the premises, and so long as the premises in question did not reasonably appear to be intended to be open to members of the public;