arnisador
03-22-2006, 02:04 AM
States allow deadly self-defense (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-20-deadly-defense_x.htm)
This may not be entirely on-topic, but today's USA Today had a front-page story on changing self-defense laws:
A year after Florida became the first state to allow citizens to use deadly force against muggers, carjackers and other attackers, the idea is spreading.
[...]
Dubbed "Stand Your Ground" bills by supporters such as the National Rifle Association, the measures generally grant immunity from prosecution and lawsuits to those who use deadly force to combat any unlawful entry or attack.
[...]
The NRA and other supporters say the bills are needed in many states that require people under attack in public places to withdraw from the situation, rather than retaliate, unless they can show their lives are in danger. "For someone attacked by criminals to be victimized a second time by a second-guessing legal system is wrong," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre says.
Critics, including the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, say the bills encourage vigilantism and would make it more likely that confrontations would turn deadly. Zach Ragbourn of the Brady group says the proposals "are more accurately called 'Shoot First' laws...
(Emphasis added.) The story focuses on guns, presumably thinking of cases like this (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29764) recent concealed-carry case in NM; but it strikes me that it is very relevant for those who carry knives. As things stand, if you carry a knife and are attacked by an unarmed mugger, you may run a legal risk if you respond with your knife. Under these laws, it seems as though using (potentially) deadly force against even a non-lethal but unlawful attack would be justified.
This may not be entirely on-topic, but today's USA Today had a front-page story on changing self-defense laws:
A year after Florida became the first state to allow citizens to use deadly force against muggers, carjackers and other attackers, the idea is spreading.
[...]
Dubbed "Stand Your Ground" bills by supporters such as the National Rifle Association, the measures generally grant immunity from prosecution and lawsuits to those who use deadly force to combat any unlawful entry or attack.
[...]
The NRA and other supporters say the bills are needed in many states that require people under attack in public places to withdraw from the situation, rather than retaliate, unless they can show their lives are in danger. "For someone attacked by criminals to be victimized a second time by a second-guessing legal system is wrong," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre says.
Critics, including the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, say the bills encourage vigilantism and would make it more likely that confrontations would turn deadly. Zach Ragbourn of the Brady group says the proposals "are more accurately called 'Shoot First' laws...
(Emphasis added.) The story focuses on guns, presumably thinking of cases like this (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29764) recent concealed-carry case in NM; but it strikes me that it is very relevant for those who carry knives. As things stand, if you carry a knife and are attacked by an unarmed mugger, you may run a legal risk if you respond with your knife. Under these laws, it seems as though using (potentially) deadly force against even a non-lethal but unlawful attack would be justified.