By the way, I find the "test case" of the Florida law cited at the end of this article to be a stretch at best. I've never been a fan of outfits that make a living out of impounding cars, and am paticularly bothered by those who feel a need to use deadly force when doing so. I find it difficult to believe a jury would buy that a man trying to get his own car back - even illegally - would be attempting to run someone over to accomplish the feat. But I guess if you're being tried for murder, you'll grasp at whatever straws you can.
Bill
States allow deadly self-defense
By Richard Willing, USA TODAY
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. South Dakota has enacted a similar law, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels plans to sign such a measure today, and 15 other states are considering such proposals.
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. Several states allow people to use deadly force in their homes against intruders; the new measures represent an expansion of self-defense rights to crimes committed in public.
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. They allow a person who just feels something bad is going to happen to open fire in public."
The idea that people should use deadly force only to defend their lives is rooted in English common law, author Richard Maxwell Brown says in No Duty To Retreat: Violence and Values in American History and Society. Another common law principle, the "duty to retreat," requires people to avoid potentially deadly confrontations. The principles apply in most states. The duty to retreat generally doesn't apply in a person's home.
LaPierre says the NRA is targeting 29 duty-to-retreat states where people can be prosecuted, sued or both if they don't retreat from criminal attacks.
Ragbourn says the proposals aim to "fix a system that isn't broken. People aren't being thrown into jail for legitimate self-defense. There's no crisis here."
Florida's law could be facing its first test. Donald Montanez, owner of a Tampa towing company, is charged with murder in the shooting of a man whose car was impounded. Prosecutors say Montanez fired as the man drove off without paying a fee. Montanez's attorney, Roger Rigau, says the new law should protect Montanez, who feared being hit by the driver.
Steve
