Posted on 02/10/2006 9:56:41 AM PST by neverdem
Measure reiterates right to self-defense
The right to self defense applies equally, whether one is sleeping in one’s bed, strolling down the street or driving to the grocery store. It seems unnecessary to say, therefore, as the state’s “make my day” law did, that a person shouldn’t be prosecuted for using deadly force to repel an attack in one’s home.
That all along has seemed self-evident to us, as it would to most juries asked to convict an individual who killed an attacker during a home invasion. The right to home defense logically falls under the right to self-defense, in other words. And the make my day law, though well-meaning, created unnecessary confusion by attempting to establish a separate standard for judging acts of self-defense.
The law wasn’t really necessary, since it reaffirmed something most Americans understand implicitly. But it’s on the books now and working as intended, so we see no problem with a measure before the Legislature — House Bill 1246 — that would extend similar protections to people who use deadly force when defending themselves outside their homes — in vehicles or hotel rooms, specifically. The bill reaffirms the right to use deadly force when a person is in “reasonable fear” that an attacker presents “an imminent peril of death or serious bodily injury” to herself or a third person. And this just makes sense to us.
The bill is co-sponsored by a number of local legislators, including Sen. Doug Lamborn and Reps. Dave Schultheis, Bill Cadman and Mark Cloer. We don’t know how well it will fare in a Democrat-controlled Statehouse. But Colorado isn’t California yet, so we are holding out hope.
Detractors of the measure naturally predict Wild West-style shootouts on the streets of Colorado, just as they do whenever gun rights or self-defense rights are upheld or enhanced. But we see little danger that people will use the law as an invitation to gun down strangers at the slightest provocation. The bill is careful to specify instances in which the new rules won’t apply. It wouldn’t apply in cases in which the person against whom force is used has a legal right to be in the lodging or vehicle in which the confrontation occurs, for instance, or is embroiled in certain child custody disputes.
And as with the original make my day law, the question of whether an individual was involved in a legitimate act of selfdefense, or engaged in vigilantism or retribution, is something that in gray-area cases will be left for jurors to decide.
By underscoring the point that every citizen is entitled to meet force with force, whether inside or outside of his or her home, this bill will give criminals second thoughts and law-abiding citizens additional assurance that they won’t be treated like criminals for doing what comes naturally and acting in selfdefense. We urge bipartisan support for H.B. 1246.
...The right to self defense applies equally, whether one is sleeping in one’s bed, strolling down the street or driving to the grocery store.....
Try and tell that to Mitt Romney and the other liberals.
The writer uses "most" people understand several times to call this bill unecessary. What if you aren't in a most situation?
so when can 'we the people' can shoot those who push imminent domain?
"We urge bipartisan support for H.B. 1246. "
How do you explain that last sentence?
One thing that is fairly consistent among fear-mongers (and not just those whose topic is guns) is a steadfast refusal to consider what actually has happened elsewhere in similar situations in favor of wild and lurid speculation about what might happen in their own.
This is an important issue, IMHO. Did you see that Denver is investigating criminal charges against a business owner who, tired of repeated break-ins, overnighted and ended up shooting a burglar? Because it's a business, Make my Day doesn't apply.
I believe so. Is that the story that includes a complaint about a one hour delay in calling 911?
Since the business was closed and the proprietor was sleeping there, how is that not his domicile? I thought that was a weak position from the city when I read it. Not to mention that many owners/employees have used deadly force in Denver during robberies and not been charged. I bet this guy walks. Too bad he is out the dough for attorney fees.
The Make My Day Law has had an affect in that people who normally would have been prosecuted as a matter of legal routine when they used deadly force are no longer prosecuted. In fact, having lived in Colorado since the day the law went on the books, it is my opinion that many cops like the law. It keeps them from having to work a case of self defense and it has removed a few perps here and there from the gene pool. Let's not forget that a perp willing to use a gun against civilians might also use them against cops, and cops hate that.
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