Now, must change state motto to "Run and hide." House votes to repeal stand-your-ground law | Politics - WMUR Home
On the good side... the Attourney general supports the existing law, and while it is regressive they havn't taken away any of the Castle doctrine rules ... my concern would be the requirement to Consider retreat in any situation except your home.... does this mean you can think about it and eject it out of hand and still meet the requirements?
While it's a bumper sticker, that saying around the Internet about being too young to die and too old to take an @$$ whoopin rings true in my mind. I'm 40 years old; I have two small kids; when faced with any assailant--be it one or 6--I have one option, and running isn't it. I can only run so fast as the kid I'm not carrying. In addition to that, even if it's one scrawny teenage punk, you don't know that there aren't more around. So, if I feel threatened or I think my kids may get hurt in any way, my number one goal is to stop the threat. If I can do that by walking away, I will; by closing a door, I will; by putting a rendition of a Jackson Pollack painting on the wall behind said punk, I will.
CATO, you're reminding me of something that happened to me 2 years after I moved to LA. I grew up on Palmdale, small town in the desert, where I don't think we ever locked our door except when EVERYONE was gone, and that wasn't often. I hear it's not like that now *sigh* At any rate, the first apartment I had with my husband was in a converted 1920s hotel. The best thing about that apartment were the pocket doors and the bathtub. They enclosed an old claw-foot tub. One day, I had taken a long soak (hubby was at work, and I wasn't working at the time), got out, and wrapped a towel around myself. I had a direct line of sight to the living room windows, which were next to the fire escape. Since we were one the sixth story, I'd never thought about problems. There was a man (Mexican I think, but I do know he was dark. Italian, for all I know) on the fire escape and reaching for my window sill (summertime in LA, very hot, window was open). The bathroom was near the front door (weird layout), and we had a large pot-metal sword we kept for emergencies, next to the door (you know, those 'El Cid' type that are made to hang on the wall and look pretty). I couldn't (at the time) lift it with one hand. I had a choice between keeping the towel on or grabbing the sword. Easy choice. I dropped the towel, picked up the sword with both hands, walked over there and swung it over my head. The potential intruder looked up, saw the sword, turned kind of pasty, and shook his head violently with a terrified look on his face. I smiled widely and nodded enthusiastically. He threw himself back and nearly fell down all the stairs of the fire escape and ran down the alley towards the park. I never saw him again. Moral of the story: nothing scares a burglar worse than a naked wench with a sword. True Story.
How would this story end differently if it happened in one of those "you gotta run first" states? [Video] TX Robbery Victim Shoots and Kills Would Be Robber
No, Not at all.... Precedent is only established, when a Statute is Judged on it's Merits. If the Statute is Repealed, then any Precedents would no long have anything to be Based on, and therefor inValid. Classic Example is the Sodomy Statutes in many States. When these Statutes were on the books, folks that were convicted, were still Convicts, and Felons. When these Statutes were Overturned, and, or Repealed, then all Convictions, based on those Statutes were vacated, and Null & Void. There were few folks that were actually ever convicted, of the Sodomy Statutes, themselves, and mostly they were convicted for other Crimes, tied to the same Incidents, (like Assault, Battery, or sum such crime) so there weren't a lot of folks, that were effected by the change.
Technically we're not required to run away, only retreat if safe to do so. In most cases of assault I believe it would be very unsafe to turn my back on the antagonist. In which case, deadly force may be applied lawfully. Deadly force may still be used in the defense against kidnapping, rape and arson. Note: RSA 627:4 still reads "or anywhere he or she has a right to be," as the repeal is not yet in effect.
Better to be judged by "X" than carried by "X". (I left it open for XXlarge types who may need more to carry the coffin)
