This country is in a sad sad sad state. The fact that we have to have justification x1000 to defend our family/personal lives is absolutely insane. You did right in my book voodo. You didnt point your gun in his face, you left it low and out of sight, but was there in case the guy was going to do you harm. None of these idiots were in your situation or felt what you felt at that moment in time. Its easy to sit back on Monday and talk about what the should haves been or how you could avoid it etc. Nowadays before you can pull a gun on someone they best have pulled a gun and fired a round at your head and you hope they miss, before you have justification in pulling yours. Just like in Iraq and Afghanistan became a joke as well. Dont not pull your trigger or aim your weapon until one is pointed at you and a rounds been fired. Everytime you sent a bullet downrange it was being investigated. I can promise you, the last thing you want to do is take another human beings life, its not an easy decision if you are forced to make it.

People do some dumb inexplicable things at odd times of the day. I commend you for being prepared and also using restraint, it's scary to think what could have been and if you'd have survived even with weapon in hand. Smart to not show a weapon or simply to mow the guy down with your car. In the event you shoot a person and it is justified and no charges are filed, there WILL be a civil suit, because nobody raises a bad kid who is capable of something that deserved to be on the receiving end of deadly force and you will likely lose regardless of the criminal trial or lack thereof.
To anyone who wants to legally carry a gun to always have the upper hand and be judged by 12 rather than carried by 6 and a bunch of other gun shop talk, know that if you flash a gun and especially if you shoot someone, a few things will happen to you;
Your life as you know it will be over
You will be spending every cent you have trying to stay out of jail and regardless of the legal outcome you will be condemned by society.
You will be regarded as a criminal and murderer regardless of the outcome.
Even if you have insurance for this type of thing, know that there are plenty of well funded anti gun groups waiting to spend their money against you.
The media will demonize you.
You will be financially drained, and then some. You will never recover financially.
You will lose your job or your business, your friends, your church, your clubs and organizations as people flee to protect their own image
Every detail of your life will become public record and it will be distorted to hurt you and to make headlines.
You will be accused of hunting people and questioned about your holster, choice of weapon, hobbies, beliefs, why you choose to own and carry a weapon and it will all get spit back in your face and used against you.
My wife had a big drunken Indian stumble into our house after midnight on a Friday night while our then infant son and I were sleeping. Our front door was unlocked because we were expecting family from out of town after midnight. We were exhausted from working and had just completed a DIY remodel project and were in the process of moving back in. She had her gun not on her, but only a couple feet from her in the kitchen and it was still too far away to be of immediate use. In about two seconds this guy had entered our home brushed past my wife and was headed down the hall where our son was sleeping. Granted, her guard was down as we were expecting invited company through the door at any time. The fact that our son's bedroom lay at the end of the hallway and my wife not wanting to fire towards that bedroom is the only reason that guy didn't lose his life that very moment.
Turns out he was kicked out of the neighbor kids party that night for being too drunk. He wandered around the neighborhood got lost and cold and mistakenly came through our front door thinking he was retuning to the party at the neighbors house. The guy rushed in past my wife simply looking for the bathroom and she realized there was no threat when he was asking for our neighbor by name and wondering what happened to the party. At first, it may have seemed justifiable to shoot the guy and perhaps no criminal charges would have been filed. But then why was our door open and my wife armed? Were we hoping someone would come in so we could shoot them? Why does my wife carry a hand cannon with hot hand loads and bullets engineered to do the maximum amount of damage to human flesh? Did we have a lawyer at midnight on a Friday? why? Why did we have an insurance policy specifically for shooting a person? Looks a lot like we've been planning this for sometime right?
I've walked away, gone way out of my way and avoided lots of strange situations and potential problems simply because I was armed and knew I likely had the upper hand and wanted no part of what was taking place. Sometime trouble will find you, but in most cases people are in places they don't belong. A little situational awareness goes a long ways. Nothing good ever happens after midnight, so I like to be home in bed.

Thanks Mudxxed and 45th.

Great answer 45th, you are totally right about things changing, I am sure. I think that is why we are seeing so many laws coming out like the Castle Doctrine, Stand Your Ground, Carjacking Laws and new laws to protect the person that was the true victim of crime, the shooter.

Anyone on here a fan or not a fan of some of the open carry laws that Texas is trying to pass? I can see it both ways. Personally, I feel like the government should never take the right away from us being able to protect ourselves with a firearm. And there are just certain areas that make sense to open carry---people walking in the fields, being in the outdoors during anytime not just hunting season.

But I also know that people get alarmed when they see someone with a gun on their side. But that can be an education thing, because they bad guys already have them in their pockets.