Two
Florida laws make it legal for crime victims to fight back. The first is
called the "Castle Doctrine." It allows people to defend their
families in their own homes. The second is the "Stand your
Ground" law. It allows any citizen to
use force when they see a
violent felony being committed.
Florida's
"Castle Doctrine" Law
The
Florida "Castle Doctrine" Law Basically
Does Three Things:
One: It establishes, in law, the presumption that a criminal who forcibly enters
or intrudes into your home or occupied vehicle is there to cause death or great
bodily harm, therefore a person may use any manner of force, including deadly
force, against that person.
Two: It removes the "duty to retreat" if you are attacked in any place
you have a right to be. You no longer have to turn your back on a criminal and
try to run when attacked. Instead, you may stand your ground and fight back,
meeting force with force, including deadly force, if you reasonably believe it
is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to yourself or others. [This
is an American right repeatedly recognized in Supreme Court gun cases.]
Three: It provides that persons using force authorized by law shall not be
prosecuted for using such force.
It also prohibits criminals and their families from suing victims for injuring
or killing the criminals who have attacked them.
In short, it gives rights back to law-abiding people and forces judges and
prosecutors who are prone to coddling criminals to instead focus on protecting
victims.
Florida's
"Stand Your Ground" Law
This Florida
law is not a gun law. It contains zero
references to guns or shooting.
This Florida law is a self-defense,
self-protection law. It has four key components:
It establishes that law-abiding
residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm
or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may
use defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder.
In any other place where a person
“has a right to be,” that person has “no duty to retreat” if
attacked and may “meet force with force, including deadly force if he or
she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great
bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a
forcible felony.”
In either case, a person using any
force permitted by the law is immune from criminal prosecution or civil
action and cannot be arrested unless a law enforcement agency determines
there is probable cause that the force used was unlawful.
If a civil action is brought and the
court finds the defendant to be immune based on the parameters of the law,
the defendant will be awarded all costs of defense.