Alphecca

Another Reason for "Castle Doctrine"

A few days ago I posted about how Castle Doctrin was coming to Texas. That's the "stand your ground" legislation that says that you don't have an obligation to run away from your attackers. In response to that, I received an email from a gentleman (who wishes to remain anonymous) who provides another good reason for it:

I do believe in retreating from a threat as an alternative to exercising lethal force. Using lethal force, any rational person can see, can have seriously encumbering consequences that could dominate one for years.

Still, I have reservations about retreat being my only legal alternative. The greatest is occasioned by my inability to yield ground. We are both in our late 60s and live in a shooting-plagued neighborhood of a dangerous city. We both need canes. Neither of us can run. Literally, we cannot run.

It seems to me that this is an issue coming into its own because of demographics. As the proportion of people our age grows, so grow the numbers of people who are physically incapable of flight. This is a particularly compelling reason, I think, for allowing people to defend themselves.