Standing your ground: Explaining Tennessee & Georgia's "castle doctrine" laws

Thank you for the news share brother SGT (Join to see) .

I don't know the complexities of either state's use of deadly force laws. Here in NC, we have Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground. As soon as anyone unlawfully crosses your threshold, they are considered hostile, and are fair game. HOWEVER, once the invaders (if still able) attempts to escape/leave your home, they are no longer a threat, and cannot be attacked while retreating. In the article in this thread, if NC law applied, the homeowner would be guilty for shooting a retreating invader.

Well, that really didn't cover Georgia's "Csstle Doctrine" laws. The following is taken from the FB site Houston County Carries Concesled.It is written by the former DA of Houston County. GA. It think he covers both Castle Doctrin and Stsnd your ground in GA quite well.
So, I’m continuing my look at the McCloskey’s “castle doctrine” case, but from a Georgia viewpoint. Georgia does not have a code section titled “castle doctrine,” or for that matter “stand your ground.” Both of those concepts are part of Georgia’s self-defense codes, found in OCGA Title 16, Chapter 3, Article 2, “Justification and Excuse.”

I’m now quoting OCGA 16-3-23, et seq (which means “and the relevant code sections thereafter,” Burke’s Palaver, since 1984). “§ 16-3-23 – Use of force in defense of habitation: A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to prevent or terminate such other’s unlawful entry into or attack upon a habitation;”

Stop here! That is the castle doctrine, There are some caveats that follow, but they aren’t necessary to today’s discussion. Am I scared? For myself or other occupants ? Is it reasonable? That premises is about to be entered? No mention of level of force, so normal rule is that you can use the amount of force sufficient to stop the entry. That normal rule doesn’t let you always bring a gun into play. I state the silly to make a point. An 8-year-old hops your fence, opens your pool gate and heads to your patio (unbeknownst to you to retrieve a whiffle ball). Can you shoot him? Obviously not. Level of force has to be reasonable.

I’ll skip the remaining parts, but again, it all deals with “reasonable.” So where does “stand your ground” come from? § 16-3-23.1 – No duty to retreat prior to use of force in self-defense. That’s pretty self-explanatory. “A person who uses threats or force in accordance with Code Section 16-3-21, relating to the use of force in defense of self or others, Code Section 16-3-23… has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use force as provided in said Code sections, including deadly force.” Here the Legislature uses the term “stand your ground” but it is not the title.

Now I’ll point out the fairly obvious. In hindsight, had the McCloskeys stayed inside once they went in the house, no protesters had yet trespassed on the McCloskey’s property. The neighborhood is private property, but it is not the McCloskey’s private property to defend. A trespass is not grounds for using force unless accompanied by something else: OCGA 16-3-23 “(1) The entry is made or attempted in a violent and tumultuous manner and he or she reasonably believes that the entry is attempted or made for the purpose of assaulting or offering personal violence to any person dwelling or being therein and that such force is necessary to prevent the assault or offer of personal violence…”

I never saw the protesters traverse across their yard, maybe they did, but it doesn’t come close to forced entry. I saw no real reason for this standoff to occur. The McCloskeys were, however, perfectly entitled to come out and start a brouhaha. Again, in hindsight, I’m betting they privately wish they had finished their mint juleps inside. Since they did come out to exercise their Constitutional right to talk too much, was it okay to be armed? I think so. From a Georgia perspective at least, there really isn’t a law that says you can’t carry on your own property if you are going to blab too much. Being prepared is a good thing—ask a Boy Scout. They both held their weapons like it was the first time. As in Foreigner’s first hit song, “Feels Like The First Time,” it is all about new beginnings. Like maybe going to the gun range and learning about your weapon new beginnings.

I watched the video and at least one protester pointed his AR-styled rifle at the couple. One of the parade organizers moved that fellow on down the road. The allegation is that Patricia McCloskey’s pistol had the firing pin in backwards, which, if true, might matter in Missouri but not in Georgia. If it looks like a gun in Georgia, it is a gun. There is no “brandishing” law in Georgia. There are “pointing a gun at another” and “aggravated assault” laws. Showing your gun is a tactical decision that I’m not going to make judgment on. Some do, some don’t. The good news is that, amazingly, the protesters kept on moving and nobody got trigger happy. Which was really good news for the McCloskeys, since they had NO ammo in either gun and none in their house. I’d be surprised if either had actually fired a gun before. At the end of the day, this was a “no harm, no foul” case in my opinion.

MY HOMETOWN HERO: My first “castle doctrine” case was probably in 1997, when a young burglar made the mistake of breaking into the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Voss. Mrs. Voss heard some clatter and went to see what was the matter. When she saw the intruder, she screamed. Mr. Voss, despite having flu-like symptoms, jumped out of bed and grabbed his pistol from the nightstand. He had put it there 40 years earlier, fully loaded, and there it sat. The intruder scampered about trying to get out, it appears, but when he grabbed a rake it looked like he was coming after the Voss’, who had called the police and kept telling the young man to get down on the ground. He may have intended to use the rake to break the garage window (the door was stuck closed), but Mr. Voss, besides being 82 years old, was also legally blind. He perceived a threat to his bride, which was too bad for the young interloper, Mr. Voss fired one shot, but it was lethal. I cleared Mr. Voss shortly thereafter as my first “Home invasion, castle doctrine, stand your ground case” came to a conclusion.

Kelly Burke