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Dougmyers5 wrote:

I would never fear a five year old in my home that I don't know or an 85 year old lost person.

Some common sense comes into play for obvious reasons when in fear for ones life.

I don’t think anything I said disagrees with your comments, or Frankie’s, or TXI, or Charles. I was not addressing whether “I was in fear for my life� is a valid defense, or whether it applied to a 5 or 85 year old. I was simply addressing if I would shoot someone who was in my house uninvited, and justifying that how they got there may not matter.

Have the discussion about fear if you so choose…new folks join the forum everyday and it’s probably valuable for them to hear it since a lot of discussion revolves around the legal definitions, code, and opinions on intent…All good things to help folks make up their mind.

But don't assume I'm involved...

Abraham wrote:
I too do my very best to approach any question with common sense, but when it comes to understanding the (at least for me) often peculiar wording of the law, i.e., "with force" I am often stumped.
…
The law itself holds it's arcane nomenclature clasped tightly to it's breast, so we of the common herd have to have interpreters.

And the interpreters often have so many elastic renderings they're not much help either.

I completely agree with you…straight answers are as rare as hens teeth. That’s why in the absence of an explanation I can understand, I tend to drift back to the force and deadly force definitions. At least those I think I have a handle on.

I was hoping one of our local authorities would chime in with some advise on what “Force� meant in regards to entering a door. Maybe someone will come on later with some info.

I too have the problem with a wife that leaves the door unlocked. If you figure out the answer to that one please pass it along

Abraham wrote:"with force" has me asking if a complete stranger walks into my home as the door is unlocked and this person has NO presumption to be their - What is my legal standing regarding their presence?

No 'force' per se was used to enter my home, but I'd be mighty concerned if I suddenly encountered a stranger in my home.

Or does this individuals uninvited presence alone constitute force?

Good question, and I too am interested in the responses to what constitutes force in this particular case.

The first thing to do is you need to establish if you are “In Fear For Your Life�…sorry, couldn’t resist lighting that particular fuse just one more time

Now back to answering your question.

Here’s how an uninformed person like me would look at it. If I meet the criteria for use of force or deadly force, then it doesn’t matter how the person gained entry to my house…forced entry is no longer relevant. By that I mean if I come down the stairs and find a person, who to the best of my knowledge is uninvited, standing in my living room with a gun in their hand, and they point it at me, I don’t believe I need to ascertain if they entered by breaking down a locked door, or walked in an open door. They are presenting me with a situation that I feel meets the criteria for the use of deadly force…I can draw my weapon and engage.

If they don’t have a weapon displayed, but they move in a fashion that concerns me, I believe I have the right to present my weapon as a threat of deadly force to encourage them to stop their actions…I believe that’s covered under the use of force.

Profiling would be a good thing to do at this point in time. If the “person of interest� is a 5 year old girl who looks lost, I don’t think Castle Doctrine’s intent is for you to be justified in shooting her since she’s in your house uninvited…regardless of how she got there.

Let’s assume the person is an 85 year old man who is totally confused, lost, and wandered into your house, maybe opening an unlocked door to gain entry. Again, I don’t think the intent of the law is that you are free to end his days.

I think if you stick to the definitions of force and deadly force, you won’t go wrong…and that’s whether you’re in your house or out.

How about some of you folks that know what you’re talking about jumping on to Abraham’s question? I too am interested in the anwers.