New MN Bill Brings Up Controversy Over Gun Rights

A bill is going to be heard in St. Paul today that would remove the "duty to retreat" clause when it comes to self defense in your home.  What "duty to retreat" means is that if someone enters your home to harm you, you first have to flee (if able) before using deadly force.   Well it's caused some controversy as every gun bill has.

I'm a gun owner.  Not only do I hunt with my guns, but I enjoy shooting them.  I'm safe, I'm careful, and I would never want to shoot another human being.  If someone enters my house I feel it is my right to defend myself and my family with any means necessary including deadly force.  The current Minnesota law says that if running out of your house is an option then you must do that.  There are some grey areas, and basically if you were to use deadly force, you better be sure to convince a jury that it was your only option.  If today's bill passes, it would give homeowners more rights that they deserve for self defense.

Opponents of the bill say that it would make it easier for people to get away with murder.  Like I said before, I would never want to shoot someone, but if push comes to shove, I'll pull the trigger.

We took a lot of calls this morning on the Breakfast Club when we brought this up.  The vast majority of people agreed that if someone enters your home you should be able to defend yourself without fleeing.  I was surprised that we heard from more women than men on the issue.  One stay at home mom said, "If someone comes into my house I'll pop a cap in there *ss!"

We did have one phone call from a mother of an autistic son who worries that people would be too gun happy and would use deadly force when unnecessary.  She said that in some cases the autistic person would not be able to explain why they were there.  There's also been stories of people with mental illness breaking into a home.  Or even drunk people have stumbled in the wrong house.  The bottom line is that as a gun owner you need to know the difference between someone wanting to harm you, or someone trespassing.   You can't just shoot someone for being in your house, even if they are stealing stuff.

What do you think?  I'd love to see your comments.