Quote:
|
Originally Posted by barstoolguru
...the SYG laws protect the homeowner /shooter from being arrested when they are in the right...
|
Not necessarily. Sometimes, notwithstanding a SYG law, it's not all that easy to establish that you were in the right.
For example, there was
Mark Abshire in Oklahoma: Despite defending himself against multiple attackers on his own lawn in a fairly gun-friendly state with a "Stand Your Ground" law, he was arrested, went to jail, charged, lost his job and his house, and spent two and a half years in the legal meat-grinder before finally being acquitted.
A SYG law may help you establish that you were in the right, but it's not a guarantee that you won't be arrested and have to establish that your use of force was justified.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca
...I'm pretty certain the wording I was taught in junior high was, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I do not recall any mention of property. And I believe that phrase was in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.
|
You're correct about "pursuit of happiness." The phrase "life, liberty or property" shows up twice in the Constitution:
- In the Fifth Amendment:
Quote:
|
No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;...
|
- In the Fourteenth Amendment:
Quote:
|
...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...
|
Of course neither has anything to do with defending your life or property against the acts of a private criminal.