Looting often accompanies riots, whatever the reason for the rioting. We hail those who protected their property with firearms. Yet, there's a wrinkle in the use-of-force laws of most states in that you may not use deadly force to prevent a property crime or to merely protect property. You must know exactly what your use-of-force laws permit in the state in which you reside or where you may have to use force. The only usual exception is arson of an occupied dwelling.
During Super-Storm Sandy, a local retail business near me posted a huge sign reading, "Looters will be shot." Really? I'm in New York, a very blue state. Had the proprietor carried out his warning or advisory, he would have faced very serious felony charges and life as he knew it would come to an end.
Sorry, I don't have a sure-fire answer to prevent looting that will pass legal muster in all 50 states. But, my continued freedom is worth more than the contents of a store.
Yes many states have different laws on property. In Texas
we can use deadly force to protect property from being carried
off or driven off etc. Texas statutes 9.41 & 9.42 defines those
rights. Texas does not require a property owner to be in fear
for their life to stop someone escaping with property, and allows
for pursuit to prevent them escaping during the night time.
So them signs in Texas that say "You Loot, We Shoot" mean what they say. Many years ago during a hurricane in Galveston,
Texas 200 looters were shot. We have had some isolated incidents of looting but nothing on a large scale.
A recent case some years ago, was the Joe Horn case in Pasadena, Texas that was no billed (all cases in Texas usually go to a grand jury), three burglars were shot had broken into
his neighbor's house, and Joe Horn went outside contrary to the
dispatcher's request he say where he was. One of the three had
a crowbar, and refuse to stop when they came onto Joe Horn's
property. Other cases where repo folks have been shot can
also be found where the person thought his vehicle was being
stolen.
