Finally, is not liberty the restricting of the law only to its rational sphere of organizing the right of the individual to lawful self-defense; of punishing injustice? —Frederic Bastiat
Around 2:45 am this past Sunday morning, a Lake Avenue resident called 911 to report individuals outside his apartment while arming himself with a handgun. Thereafter, the apartment door was kicked open, two men rushed in and charged at resident, according to Manchester Police . The resident open-fired killing one of the intruders. A second unknown intruder fled the scene and it is believed the second assailant was not shot. A woman and a small child were also present in the apartment and were not harmed. Police have not charged the shooter, and their investigation continues. The dead attacker was 24-year-old Michael Larocque Jr., according to the Union Leader.
In the wake of this recent news, there have some folks on social media calling this, “stand your ground.” NOPE! This fact pattern is not “Stand-Your-Ground.” This is CASTLE DOCTRINE. Accepting the reported fact pattern as….”fact,” then here are the facts making it “Castle Doctrine,” not “SYG:
- Resident at 400 Block of Lake Ave calls 911 because of a non-discript disturbance outside his apartment…his “home.”
- Fearing for his personal safety and the safety of the other occupants, the resident arms himself with a handgun.
- The assailants kick open the door…a forced entry…entering his residence by force. unlawful force.
- Upon forcing the door, the home invaders charge the resident. He fires three shots, two find their mark on one assailant and the other flees the scene.
- The assailant dies in the home of where he made his attack. CASTLE DOCTRINE.
Since this UL and WMUR story, I have seen several references on social media to this case being “Stand Your Ground.” Folks, this ‘ain’t’ it. Some might accuse me of “splitting hairs here” but given the sweat, political treasure, time and energy expended by so many of us on the front lines advocating for the fundamental right of self-defense, It is important that we the citizens understand the fundamental distinctions between both. Remember, the repeal of Stand Your Ground (HB 135) was passed out of the House! It was later tabled in the Senate and our present law remains in tact. There was a great deal of lies, damn lies, mischaracterizations, confabulations, contortions and fibs used in advocacy to take away your fundamental right to protect your families. Here on Granite Grok alone literally thousands upon thousands of words were expended in defense of keeping SYG. We named names of those who voted for repeal. Pure Bread and circus came from the left on this. They called many of us ignorant, wagging their fingers at us, telling us they know better than we the people do. Pure charlatans…all of them. So please, folks…LET’S GET THIS RIGHT.
Castle Doctrine sometimes also referred to as Lawful Defense of Habitation is a legal doctrine that designates a person’s personal living space where that person has protections and immunities to use force to defend against an intruder and the person has no duty to retreat. Such force can be anything from a non-lethal restraint up to deadly force where necessary.
Stand Your Ground on the other hand, states that a person may justifiably use force in self-defense or on behalf of others when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat of force. SYG differs from Castle Doctrine, in that a person may use the force at any place they have a lawful right to be away from the home or its appurtenances.
Prior to Stand your ground, New Hampshire law imposed a legal OBLIGATION to retreat. That obligation was removed from law with the passage of Senate Bill 88 in 2010. The use of force allowed may be anything from a physical restraint up to the use of deadly force, if warranted by the circumstances.
We live in a society today where many of us still place great value on our personal liberty and the right to be left alone. Let’s say for example I am in 7-Eleven wearing a wrinkled shirt and some schmuck I’ve never met reaches up and tries to fix my collar. I can slap his hand away because he has no right to even touch me. I have just enforced my right to be left alone. This is still a use of force, albeit a small use of force. But to live in a society with such sacrosanct rights, We all must be crystal clear about the use of force, how much to use, when to use it and crystal clear about the legal doctrines that govern its use.
