Stand your ground laws in Ohio?

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Mark
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Location: Dayton, Ohio

Stand your ground laws in Ohio?

Post by Mark »

A lot of states are now considering "stand your ground" legislation, similar to what was recently passed in Florida. Any chance we will see similar efforts here in Ohio in the near future?
dan_sayers
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Post by dan_sayers »

Near future? Probably not. I think we might have to have a few more occurances where stand your ground/duty to retreat was a deciding factor. In the meantime, you'll probably find reform focusing more on the way we carry, not the way we dispense our responsibilities.
"Moderation in the defense of liberty is no virtue." - Ann Coulter
"Liberalism is part of a religious disorder that demands a belief that life is controllable." - Ann Coulter
By their fruits ye shall know them.
NavyChief
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Post by NavyChief »

A couple things to consider in the case of Florida passing it...

For one thing, it simply codified what had already been (largely) case law in Florida for quite some time. I can't remember the last time I saw a news story of a legitimate act of self-defense end with other than, "Police say no charges will be filed..." What it did do, far more importantly in my mind, was remove the civil liability aspect of same. From Florida statutes (emphasis mine):
776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.

(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term "criminal prosecution" includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.

(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful.

(3) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection (1).
Another point to consider was the bill's main sponsor - Jim King (a "mover and shaker" in FL state politics). Not to minimize all the hard work done by the NRA and many other fine organizations, but without Mr. King's support it might still be languishing in committee. And one of Mr. King's motivations was the fact that several years ago he and his family were the victims of an armed robbery in their own home - so he felt very strongly about it.
Last edited by NavyChief on Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Total repeal of ALL firearms/weapons laws at the local, state and federal levels. Period. Wipe the slate clean.
Hooligan
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Post by Hooligan »

I agree with Dan, we'll probably be reforming how and where we carry for awhile before we get into the "good stuff" like stand your ground laws. Michigan is working on a similar law (I think its referred to as the Deadly Force bill, but I could be wrong), which is encouraging, but they've had CCW longer than Ohio has. If you are concerned, contact your legislators. They need to know what the people want. Actually, its not a bad idea if all of us contacted our legislators with that same concern.
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