Indiana Expands Right to Use Deadly Force

The Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, signed a bill this week to expand the rights of citizens to use deadly force in order to protect themselves.  Previous statutes required that a person back down before resorting to gunfire.  This law takes away such a requirement. 

Existing Indiana laws allow residents of the state to use a firearm or other deadly weapon to protect themselves or someone else from serious bodily injury.  Now those residents do not have a duty to retreat prior to using deadly force.

Indiana is the third state to adopt such a law.  Florida and South Dakota allow their citizens the right to use deadly force before backing down, in matters of self-defense.  The National Rifle Association (NRA) calls these statutes “Stand your ground” laws. 

According to a chief lobbyist for the NRA, Chris Cox, “Law-abiding citizens should not be forced to retreat when they are being attacked by criminals whether it’s inside the home or outside their home.”

Critics, such as those with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, say such laws encourage gun violence.  A spokesman for the Brady Campaign, Peter Hamm, contends this new gun law is a possibly dangerous solution to a non-existent problem.  “There is not a scenario of legitimate self-defense anywhere in the country that doesn’t get treated by juries, prosecutors, and police as self-defense,” he asserts.