INDIANAPOLIS – The governor has signed a measure that extends Indiana residents’ right to use deadly force to protect themselves, spelling out that they don’t have to back down before resorting to gunfire.
State law already allowed Hoosiers to use a gun or other deadly weapon to prevent serious bodily injury to themselves or someone else.
The statute that Gov. Mitch Daniels signed Tuesday adds that a resident “does not have a duty to retreat,” a phrase intended to prevent courts from determining that people must give way before using deadly force.
Although other states have so-called “deadly force” laws, backers said this makes Indiana only the third, after Florida and South Dakota, to spell out the right to use deadly force without first trying to back away from a threat. The National Rifle Association has lobbied across the country for what it calls “Stand Your Ground” laws.
“Law-abiding citizens should not be forced to retreat when they’re being attacked by criminals whether it’s inside their home or outside their home,” said Chris Cox, the NRA chief lobbyist.
Critics maintain that such laws can encourage gun violence. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence calls it “shoot-first” legislation.
“It’s really a potentially dangerous solution to a nonexistent problem because 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,” said Peter Hamm, a Brady campaign spokesman.
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