KS 21-3212

Use of force in defense of dwelling, place of work or occupied vehicle; no duty to retreat.

In this post I am going to talk about the right to defend yourself and how that relates to CCH. Because I live in Kansas I am going to specifically focus on Kansas' law and how that applies to me. As stated in the title, KS 21-3212 is about the use of force in the defense of a dwelling, place of work or occupied vehicle.

In Kansas, residents are justified in the use of force against another when the resident believes that such force is necessary to prevent or terminate such other's unlawful entry into or attack upon such person's dwelling, place
of work or occupied vehicle. In plain English, this part of the bill states that if you feel threatened in the a fore mentioned manner than you have the right to defend yourself. You have the right to defend your family at your house, you have the right to defend your co-workers at work, and you have the right to defend yourself and your passengers in your vehicle. As long as you believe that such force is necessary to stop an intruder than your preventative actions are protected under the law.

Also covered in KS 21-3212 is: A person is justified in the use of deadly force to prevent or terminate unlawful entry into or attack upon any dwelling, place of work or occupied vehicle if such person reasonably believes
that such use of deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to such
person or another. Section B basically states what is in section A with one major change. Section B explicitly states that deadly force is authorized for the prevention of imminent death or great bodily harm.

To be clear, if someone runs into your house with nothing but the clothes on his back you have the right to get him out of your house. However, unlike Texas, you do not have the right to kill them for entering your house; Unless the person is running into your house wielding a weapon and you reasonably believe your or your families life is in danger.

The final section of KS 21-3212 covers the duty to retreat; or in Kansas, the lack there of. As stated, nothing in this section shall require a person to retreat if such person is using force to protect such person's dwelling, place of work or occupied vehicle. If this sounds confusing than you're not alone. What is a duty to retreat? If my life is in danger why should I have a duty to retreat? The duty to retreat basically means that you have an obligation to walk away from the situation before you have the right to defend yourself. Luckily for Kansas residents, no such duty exists.

How does all of this relate to CCH? It relates because knowing the law is an obligation everyone is society holds. After all, ignorance of the law is no excuse. This obligation is especially true for residents carrying handguns. If you are going to carry a handgun you have to know when and where you are legally allowed to use it.

It is also worth to note another piece of information that directly relates to firearms and crime. The law that has been described above is also known as Castle Doctrine. Once implemented, Castle Doctrine has been shown to reduce murder rates by 9 percent and violent crimes by 11 percent (University of Chicago Press, 2010). If crime rates reduced because potential offenders knew they could be legally killed than issuing CCH to law-abiding citizens should have the same effect. If a criminal knew their victim was armed would they still commit their illegal act?