The law says you can only use equal force to that used against you to defend yourself.. but should you let yourself get beat with a stick because all you have is a gun?

If a stick is big enough to cause physical injury, then it can be argued as a deadly weapon, which allows you to use your firearm. Shoot to kill (so the stick wielder can't testify against you) and don't fire any more than necessary (so the prosecution can't argue against your self defense). And don't shoot the guy when he is on the ground.

The law in Florida says you can shoot anyone who is a threat to you, as long as it's on your property. At least, for the moment it does - I expect it to change in the not-so-distant future.

Well, i guess you ask the assaultee for a time out, till you find yourself a big stick. this will never happen, so you defend yourself the best way you can.

Just be prepared to explain to a Grand Jury, why you did what you did and why.

What happend to your baton?

I suppose you could grab the gun by the muzzle and whack 'em with the butt.

It is easy to learn ju jit su skill to throw people into concreat street and brick walls and to break elbows and knees. thats why 5'5 120lb japanise people have beating much larger people. how ever if some one grabs your arm and you break it and put him to the ground you have to stop because thay are no longer a threat. you cant mount him then beat him to death and get away with it.

Self defense is valid so long as you used no more force to defend yourself then necessary. This does not necssarily mean that I cannot shoot you if your only weapon is your fist. A fist can be just as lethal as a gun. Thus, if you threaten to punch me, I can't defend by shooting you. However, if you are punching me continuously and the only way I can avoid you punching me to death is by shooting you, that shooting is justified.

In short, equal force does not mean equal weapons. It just means that I cannot use lethal force on you, if you are using less than lethal force on me.

Just show the guy/girl the gun, they don't know you won't shoot. That should do it!

Never take out a weapon you dont intend using! My friend took out a knife as a means to prevent an attack. He had no intent on using the knife and the end result was that the attacker took the knife from him. My friend was then attacked with the knife in the back of his neck...he was extremely fortunate to survive the ordeal. Despite the fact that the attacker was repromanded, the attacker got away without any charges. If you're an intelligent person you'll probably already be noting that the reason is because my friend took out a weapon as a means to threaten his attacker. His attacker was able to claim self-defence against the greater threat of a knife. The attacker's use of the knife was deemed necessary force. It should also be noted that if my friend had died then the attacker would've been prosecuted.
The moral: Never draw a weapon you dont intend on using...but if you do...then you'll need to die in order for your attacker to be prosecuted.