Guns for Beginners: Castle Doctrine and The Duty to Retreat

By Robert Farago

“A witness called police saying that someone had just shot their wife in the middle of the street,” reuters.com reports, “and that he was trying to get into the house across the street. The homeowner heard the shots and grabbed a firearm. As the man attempted to enter the home, he killed the suspect.” Given the totality of circumstances, the Oklahoma homeowner who terminated his wife-aversive neighbor will not face prosecution. Ah, but the antis would say, “Why didn’t he retreat into the house? He didn’t have to confront the man trying to break in.” No he didn’t. But neither was he obliged to retreat . . .

Like many but not all states, Oklahoma has a “castle doctrine” or “stand your ground” law.

[Click here to see if yours is one of them. It is imperative that you know whether or not your state is on the list. Even if your state has a so-called stand your ground law” it’s equally important that you read and understand the statute. There are key differences between laws which could well mean the difference between a pat on the back and serious jail time.]

Oklahoma law …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns