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Knimrod
02-21-2006, 11:48 PM
Bill allows use of force in cases of self-defense
February 21, 2006
Lansing State Journal

your home is your castle, can you use force - even deadly force - to protect it without getting sued or arrested?

The answer would be yes, under legislation to be discussed today at a hearing before a state Senate committee.

The bill has sparked debate: The head of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association says the concept raises questions about taking another person's life, and gun-control advocates contend it's too broad and could apply even to bar fights and playground squabbles.

Nearly identical bills introduced in the House and Senate provide legal immunity for the use of force in self-defense. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing today.

"You should be able to use every defense possible," said Rep. Tim Moore, R-Farwell, a sponsor of a House bill.

Opponents argue the legislation will encourage people to take the law into their own hands and put innocent bystanders at risk.

"To even consider this bill is ridiculous," said Shikha Hamilton, president of the Michigan Million Mom March chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control advocacy group.

Terry Jungel, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association, said that while the legislation is a "wonderful idea in concept," it raises serious concerns about a person's right to take someone else's life. The association has not taken a position on the bills.

Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said people have the right to self-defense because of well-established precedent, but there always is the potential for courts to overturn it.

"There is no Michigan statute that guarantees that right," he said.

Jones pointed to a case when he was Eaton County sheriff and a man broke into a Dimondale couple's house and threatened the husband with a screwdriver.

"While he was fighting for his life, crashing into walls, his wife ran over with a jar of pennies and knocked the intruder out cold," Jones said. "A few months later, the guy sued."

Link to story (http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060221/NEWS04/602210327/1005/news)

joen
02-22-2006, 06:40 AM
The current law states we must retreat. My home is my retreat; I can go no further.

jetset9c1
02-22-2006, 07:10 PM
As I understand it, you still have a duty to retreat. You just won't be sued in civil court for defending yourself.

I can't beleive the tripe I've heard and read about this bill. It blows my mind.

Matt`G
02-23-2006, 01:24 PM
As I understand it, you still have a duty to retreat. You just won't be sued in civil court for defending yourself.

I can't beleive the tripe I've heard and read about this bill. It blows my mind.
If S 1046 passes, the duty to retreat will be removed. Snippet from the bill:

(3) A person 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 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 to another person or
to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
Frank Beckmann talked about this on WJR yesterday morning... he had Shikha Hamilton on to represent the anti's and then a Senator in favor of it to represent the sane people. If I wasn't at work I would have called in to throw my two cents into the hat.

Kouger
02-23-2006, 01:35 PM
it is my understanding that you do have a duty to retreat..UNLESS you are in your home.

goldwing2000
02-23-2006, 02:11 PM
it is my understanding that you do have a duty to retreat..UNLESS you are in your home.

That is what I was taught, as well.

M1911A1
02-23-2006, 05:30 PM
As the law stands now, yes you do have a duty to retreat outside of your home.
The bill proposed would remove the duty to retreat but you would still need to be in imminent danger. It is NOT a "shoot first" bill as the Brady Bunch is calling it