Stand-your-ground law

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Quigley_Sharps, Aug 18, 2006.


  1. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    "Stand Your Ground" laws, sometimes called shoot-first laws by their critics, are statutes that allow the use of deadly force to defend against forcible unlawful entry or attack. These bills significantly expand the boundaries of legal self-defense by eliminating a person's duty to retreat from an invader or assailant in certain cases before resorting to the use of "defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another." <SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple_0>[1]</SUP>
    The state of Florida in the United States became the first to enact such a law on October 1 2005. The Florida statute allows the use of deadly force when a person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent the commission of a "forcible felony." Under the statute, forcible felonies include "treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual."<SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple_1>[1]</SUP>
    The Florida law authorizes the use of defensive force by anyone "who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be." Furthermore, under the law, such a person "has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." The statute also grants civil and criminal immunity to anyone found to have had such a reasonable belief.<SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple_2>[1]</SUP>

    Many supporters of the legislation, including the National Rifle Association, have dubbed the Florida statute a "Stand Your Ground" law, since it allows people to 'stand their ground' in defense of themselves and their property when attacked without fear of prosecution or civil lawsuits. Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the NRA has said, "For someone attacked by criminals to be victimized a second time by a second-guessing legal system is wrong."<SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple2_0>[2]</SUP>
    Critics of the legistation, however, fear that laws like this will lead to a rise in gun-related deaths by encouraging vigilantism and pre-emptive shootings. Zach Ragbourn, a spokesperson for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has said that laws like Florida's "are more accurately called 'Shoot First' laws. They allow a person who just feels something bad is going to happen to open fire in public."<SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple2_1>[2]</SUP>

    Since the enactment of the Florida legislation, South Dakota, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Indiana have adopted similar statutes, and 15 other states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming) are currently considering "Stand Your Ground" laws of their own.<SUP class=reference id=wp-_ref-multiple2_2>[2]</SUP>
    Some of the states that have passed or are considering "stand your ground" legislation already are considered "stand your ground" in their case law. These states include: Washington State (per State v. Reynaldo Redmond), Indiana, and Georgia. Though stand your ground is already caselaw in these states, these states still passed "stand your ground" into statute due to possible concerns of the caselaw being replaced by "duty to retreat" by future court rulings. Also, these states did not have civil immunity for self defense in their previous self defense statutes.
    Notes

    1. <LI id=wp-_note-multiple>^ <SUP>a</SUP> <SUP>b</SUP> <SUP>c</SUP> Florida Statutes Title XLVI Chapter 776
    2. ^ <SUP>a</SUP> <SUP>b</SUP> <SUP>c</SUP> "States allow deadly self-defense" by Richard Willing, USAToday, March 20, 2006, retrieved April 4, 2006
     
  2. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Sounds like it's about damn time. Glad to see it is coming forth on so many state fronts. Now all we have to do is to hope those chicken hearted people who stand watching granny get beat by a thug will act to help instead of worrying if they will get sued.
     
  3. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    When they pass one here, I guess I can throw away that rusty old butcher knife I've kept for years to put in the hand of dead intruder I'd shoot dead so I can say "Yep, officer......I was in FEAR for my life......crazy man....you SEE the size of that knife ?"

    ;)
     
  4. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I liked what an old gun shop owner told me. t least in MO you can use deadly force if in fear of 'rape, death or sevear bodily harm', so his idea was if you shoot them and they are unarmed just pull their pecker out and put it in their hand and tell the officer 'he said he was gonna F#ck me in the arse'. Harder to get contradicting finger prints that way. lol
     
  5. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Hey MonkeyMan, wonder what the deal would have been if the would-be rapist was a man of small stature. :D I tell you this is a good law to have on the books. If a burgular comes to your house and breaks in the time of response in most places would give the burgular time to rob you, kill you, molest your body and get away without a trace. I am glad to see that they are putting the power back into the hands of the homeowners. The next law that needs to change is anything having to do with a burgular getting hurt on your property such as a sprained ankle while attempting to get away with your TV and you are sued for it. That is the next BS that needs to go if this law doesn't cover it.

    Now if you are hosting a BBQ and a friend hurts himself then you could pay a portion of his bills and he cover the rest. That would just be neighborly. Though to pay the full bill for a crook who intended to 'liberate' some of your hard-earned property is a load of crap. Maybe if he falls down and hurts himself, you could fall down too and 'accidentally' discharge your weapon. '?' Haha.

    Will tell you this little bit of old news. In Alabama there was a guy who worked hard and owned a nice home. In his backyard he had a shed where he stored his tools and such items. He came home from work in the evening and found that someone was inside his shed ripping him off. He went out back and shot and killed the thief. They put him on trial and his trial lasted all of two weeks. He was found to have been justified in the shooting even though it was not in his 'house'. The reason remains up in the air. Mayhaps he had other weapons stored there, maybe he had sharp hand tools or the guy was armed. Either way this was a triumph of justice. The sad part was that the guy had to go to trial for it. This day and age it seems that if a guy is found standing over your body with a sharp knife in hand, yelling that he's going to kill you is not enough for some idiots. I'll just read their obits in the paper. Haha.
     
  6. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Yeah we are supposed to be trying to get a stand your ground law like Floridas in the next legislative session here, where if they are in your house or if you feel threatened by them elsewhere then you are able to shoot them and not have to stand trial and are also imune from civil suits over it from their survivers or from them if you didnt finish the job and can still show they were a threat. Im realy hopeing we get it.
     
  7. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    :eek: :eek: :eek:
     
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7