Stand Your Ground Law

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According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, self defense is using “skills that make you capable of protecting yourself during an attack”. Any further attacks would be considered as retaliation and not self-defense. However, not all states have adopted self-defense laws. So, having to protect oneself from harm could cause a person to be charged and arrested. Throughout the U.S., some states have adopted self-defense laws. These laws are categorized as stand your ground, the castle doctrine, and the duty to retreat. One of the self-defense law categories includes stand your ground. Stand your ground law allows a person to defend themselves without having to flee a threatening situation (FindLaw). Another self-defense category includes the castle doctrine. The …show more content…
However, the castle doctrine varies from state to state. The last of the three categories is the duty to retreat law. The duty to retreat is what the name implies. A person’s priority is to avoid harm first by fleeing the threatening situation (FindLaw). In other words, using deadly force should be avoided whenever possible if retreating is an alternative. In the state of Maryland, the type of self-defense law used is the duty to retreat. There has been countless times where the state of Maryland has tried to pass reforms to the self-defense law, but to no avail. However in 2010, Senate Bill 411 was passed which allowed civil immunity. Senate Bill 411 almost serves as a castle doctrine, but not really. A person is able to protect themselves without being “liable for damages of personal injury or death [to] an individual who enters the person’s dwelling or place of business under certain circumstances” (Maryland Senate). These circumstances include if “the person reasonably believes