A State Of Cowards

Looking at the spike in violence, Christian Science Monitor asks: “Who owns the streets?

In Minnesota, it’s the criminals.  Minnesota is a mandatory cowardice state.  You cannot stand your ground to defend yourself.  You have a legal duty to run away from criminals.  They can roam wherever they want.  You cannot. 

The man quoted in the article isn’t worried about the lack of cops.  He carries a gun for protection. Good for him.  But he’s in Georgia, which is a stand-your-ground state.  He can fight to protect himself on the street.  Minnesotans cannot.  

Yes, there is technically a loophole.  You don’t have to retreat if you can’t do it safely.  But guess what?  In order to use that loophole, you first must admit you killed the person, then the burden is on You to convince the judge and jury that you were allowed to kill him because you could not retreat, it wasn’t safe.  If they aren’t convinced, you’ve just pled guilty to murder.

Republicans tried to pass Stand Your Ground in Minnesota.  Democrats blocked it. 

I guess we know whose side they’re on.

Joe Doakes

Self defense reform – including the reforms commonly called “Stand Your Ground” – was passed by a bipartisan majority, but vetoed by Governor Flint Smith.

I know, I know, it was Dayton. Pffft.

And yes – it gives criminals an advantage on the street, and in court, where they are innocent until proven guilty, while citizens defending themselves effectively plead guilty and then hope their lawyer can overcome jury prejudice and the jury instructions from a judge who may have a less enlightened take in citizens’ rights but who has absolute power nonetheless.

The title is a reference to Jeff Snyder’s classic monograph “A Nation of Cowards“, by the way, a seminal article in the history of gun law reform from almost thirty years ago. It’s very germane. If you’ve never read it, do.

4 thoughts on “A State Of Cowards

  1. Until a member of the Democrat elitist cowards class, is a victim of their own stupidity or the GOP gets full control of Minnesota’s legislature, nothing will change.

  2. Missouri is a Stand Your Ground state, but that didn’t stop the St. Louis prosecuting attorney from charging the white couple with terrorism for defending their nice home, and from sending the police to confiscate their guns.

  3. As a possible juror, it strikes me that in a world where most perps are young and presumably fleet of foot, that in almost all cases, permit holders do NOT have the strong ability to retreat without risking their lives. So if I’m ever chosen as a juror in such a trial, Minnesota will most likely become a stand your ground state, at least inasmuch as that trial is concerned.

  4. BB,
    As a permit holder I’ve had to accept that I’ll never be on a jury in a self defense case and, God forbid, I’m the one on trial, nobody with a permit will be on my jury. Guess that would be too much of a “jury of my peers.”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.