Posted on 01/06/2012 8:13:41 AM PST by KeyLargo
1/6/2012 7:29:00 AM
Castle Doctrine expands rights of citizens to defend themselves Presumption of belief, no liability for self-defense
Richard Moore Investigative Reporter
When Gov. Scott Walker was campaigning last year, he proclaimed his support for legislation giving citizens broad new legal protections for defending themselves in their homes against unwanted intruders.
The notion is called the Castle Doctrine, and Walker promised he'd sign such a bill into law if he was elected and the Legislature passed it.
"Homeowners should take comfort in knowing that their home is truly their castle, which is why I support citizens' rights to protect themselves in their own homes and anywhere they have a legal right to be, by adopting a strong Castle Doctrine law," Walker said.
Well, elected he was, and last month, on Dec. 7, after passing both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support, Walker did indeed sign the still controversial bill into law. The measure took effect on Dec. 21.
In so doing, Wisconsin became the 30th state to adopt a Castle Doctrine legal principle, and the National Rifle Association, which had pushed for enactment, hailed its passage.
"Gov. Walker and Wisconsin lawmakers know that law-abiding citizens must have the right to protect themselves when criminals attack, without fear of being second-guessed by an overzealous prosecutor," said Chris W. Cox, executive director for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. "Crime victims don't have the luxury of time when confronted by a criminal - they need to know that the law is on their side. The Castle Doctrine statute accomplishes that by clarifying that crime victims may defend themselves without first being required to retreat."
(Excerpt) Read more at lakelandtimes.com ...
And on related news:
Wisconsin Gov. Walker: Unions ‘want me dead’
By Ben Wolfgang
The Washington Times
Thursday, January 5, 2012
With a June recall election all but certain, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the debate is no longer just about collective-bargaining rights for state workers. Union leaders and others, he said, have made it personal.
“They want me dead. I don’t think that’s an exaggeration,”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/5/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-unions-want-me-dead/print/
Mother With a Gun
By Rich Lowry
January 6, 2012 12:00 A.M.
If the National Rifle Association had an award for Mother of the Year, it might already have a winner. When two men began to break into her home on New Year’s Eve, Sarah Dawn McKinley of Blanchard, Okla., popped a bottle into her crying three-month-old baby’s mouth and reached for her guns.
According to her account and that of police, she defended herself and her child in terrifying circumstances. To say McKinley was in the middle of nowhere would exaggerate the centrality of her location in a sparsely populated area about 25 miles outside of Oklahoma City. To say her home was vulnerable would exaggerate the security of a trailer with no alarm system or safe rooms. To say she was on her own would probably exaggerate her sense of connectedness, by herself, tending to her infant, after her husband had died of lung cancer on Christmas Day.
http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/287332
Wisconsin Castle Doctrine Ping
Thanks for posting, KeyLargo.
The Castle Doctrine works in Florida. Hope all states adopt it. If you aren’t safe in your own home, you’re not safe anywhere.
I believe that 32 states have some form of castle doctrine law now.
Nice to hear from Richard Moore. He was instrumental in getting the constitutionality of open carry widely recognized in Wisconsin. He wrote some great articles a couple of years ago on that subject.
Millions of Americans live in ‘trailers’. Whether they are older homes, set on anchors or newer Manufactured homes set on foudations, they certainly are not built with ‘safe rooms.
I have only heard of ONE house in my entire life which ws built deliberately with a ‘safe room’. I am 72.
The tome of this article suffests that those who live without a ‘safe room’ are asking for their own troubles.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Wish we had Walker and Castle here in Minnesota.
Love the Milwaukkee Co. Sheriff David Clarke quotes:
Supporters are diverse, however, and include Democrats as well as Republicans, and some prominent law enforcement officials, such as Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke.
“There is no place more sacred in our system of justice, as evidenced by our Constitution, nor is there any place in which a person has more of a right to be safe and secure from the threats of the outside world, than in their own home,” Clarke said. “With the recently enacted Personal Protection Act and the proposed ‘Castle Law,’ I am encouraged that our lawmakers are starting to ‘get it’ when it comes to law-abiding people not surrendering the upper hand to the criminal element. I’m through telling law-abiding people to automatically run first from crime. I’m not going to tell anyone what they should do under similar circumstances, but the only time I am going to run from my own home is if it’s on fire or flooding.”
If an intruder enters, Clarke said, his first move would not be to dial 9-1-1, it would be to protect and defend his family and himself.
“Once that threat of an intruder has been identified and neutralized, then I’ll call for police,” he said. “If that means it is after I shoot the intruder, then so be it. Telling or expecting people to call 9-1-1 first and then hide in a closet waiting for the police to arrive is silly. What happens if the intruder is between you and the door to the home, do we expect people to jump out a second story window?”
Oregon is working on a castle doctrine as well.
http://www.commonsensefororegon.com/measures/oregon-castle-doctrine/
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