Castle Doctrine States

Self Defense Laws
Self Defense Laws
AlabamaAlabamaStand Your Ground
AlaskaAlaskaStand Your Ground
ArizonaArizonaStand Your Ground
ArkansasArkansasStand Your Ground
CaliforniaCaliforniaCastle Doctrine
ColoradoColoradoCastle Doctrine
ConnecticutConnecticutDuty to Retreat
DelawareDelawareDuty to Retreat
FloridaFloridaStand Your Ground
GeorgiaGeorgiaStand Your Ground
HawaiiHawaiiDuty to Retreat
IdahoIdahoStand Your Ground
IllinoisIllinoisCastle Doctrine
IndianaIndianaStand Your Ground
IowaIowaCastle Doctrine
KansasKansasStand Your Ground
KentuckyKentuckyStand Your Ground
LouisianaLouisianaStand Your Ground
MaineMaineDuty to Retreat
MarylandMarylandDuty to Retreat
MassachusettsMassachusettsDuty to Retreat
MichiganMichiganStand Your Ground
MinnesotaMinnesotaDuty to Retreat
MississippiMississippiStand Your Ground
MissouriMissouriStand Your Ground
MontanaMontanaStand Your Ground
NebraskaNebraskaDuty to Retreat
NevadaNevadaStand Your Ground
New HampshireNew HampshireStand Your Ground
New JerseyNew JerseyDuty to Retreat
New MexicoNew MexicoCastle Doctrine
New YorkNew YorkDuty to Retreat
North CarolinaNorth CarolinaStand Your Ground
North DakotaNorth DakotaDuty to Retreat
OhioOhioStand Your Ground
OklahomaOklahomaStand Your Ground
OregonOregonCastle Doctrine
PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaStand Your Ground
Rhode IslandRhode IslandDuty to Retreat
South CarolinaSouth CarolinaStand Your Ground
South DakotaSouth DakotaStand Your Ground
TennesseeTennesseeStand Your Ground
TexasTexasStand Your Ground
UtahUtahStand Your Ground
VermontVermontCastle Doctrine
VirginiaVirginiaCastle Doctrine
WashingtonWashingtonCastle Doctrine
West VirginiaWest VirginiaStand Your Ground
WisconsinWisconsinDuty to Retreat
WyomingWyomingCastle Doctrine
Rankings
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Table of Contents

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Castle Doctrine States

In the United States, laws regulating self-defense and the right to protect one’s presence in particular spaces vary from state to state, and often engender substantial debate. This article examines the legislation known as the "Castle Doctrine," which asserts that a person's home – and occasionally their workplace or vehicle – is their sanctuary, granting them the right to use force, even deadly force, in self-defense against an intruder, without the duty to retreat. While “Castle Doctrine” provides no obligation to retreat within one’s home or certain private spaces, the “Stand Your Ground” law expands this right to any place a person has a legal right to be, during a perceived threat. Lastly, “Duty to Retreat” laws necessitate the obligation to first retreat to safety if possible before using force.

  • The 'Stand Your Ground' law is the most widely-adopted across states, with states like Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Texas, and more recognizing this law.
  • The 'Castle Doctrine' is practiced in fewer states, including Wyoming, California, Illinois, New Mexico, and others.
  • A minority of states, including Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Wisconsin, retain the ‘Duty to Retreat’ laws, showing a trend towards adopting non-retreat self-defense laws such as “Stand Your Ground” and “Castle Doctrine.”
  • States like Iowa uniquely have both a Castle Doctrine and a Stand Your Ground law variation, demonstrating that blending of these self-defense laws is also a possibility to cater to the distinct characteristics of the state population.

By Region

Alabama

See Less
Alabama

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Alaska

See More
Alaska

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Arizona

See More
Arizona

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Arkansas

See More
Arkansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

California

See More
California

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Colorado

See More
Colorado

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Connecticut

See More
Connecticut

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Delaware

See More
Delaware

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Florida

See More
Florida

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Georgia

See More
Georgia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Hawaii

See More
Hawaii

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Idaho

See More
Idaho

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Illinois

See More
Illinois

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Indiana

See More
Indiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Iowa

See More
Iowa

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Kansas

See More
Kansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Kentucky

See More
Kentucky

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Louisiana

See More
Louisiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Maine

See More
Maine

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Maryland

See More
Maryland

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Massachusetts

See More
Massachusetts

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Michigan

See More
Michigan

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Minnesota

See More
Minnesota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Mississippi

See More
Mississippi

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Missouri

See More
Missouri

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Montana

See More
Montana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Nebraska

See More
Nebraska

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Nevada

See More
Nevada

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

New Hampshire

See More
New Hampshire

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

New Jersey

See More
New Jersey

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

New Mexico

See More
New Mexico

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

New York

See More
New York

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

North Carolina

See More
North Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

North Dakota

See More
North Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Ohio

See More
Ohio

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Oklahoma

See More
Oklahoma

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Oregon

See More
Oregon

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Pennsylvania

See More
Pennsylvania

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Rhode Island

See More
Rhode Island

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

South Carolina

See More
South Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

South Dakota

See More
South Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Tennessee

See More
Tennessee

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Texas

See More
Texas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Utah

See More
Utah

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Vermont

See More
Vermont

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Virginia

See More
Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Washington

See More
Washington

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

West Virginia

See More
West Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Wisconsin

See More
Wisconsin

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Wyoming

See More
Wyoming

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Table

Region ↕Self Defense Laws ↕
Alabama iconAlabamaStand Your Ground
Alaska iconAlaskaStand Your Ground
Arizona iconArizonaStand Your Ground
Arkansas iconArkansasStand Your Ground
California iconCaliforniaCastle Doctrine
Colorado iconColoradoCastle Doctrine
Connecticut iconConnecticutDuty to Retreat
Delaware iconDelawareDuty to Retreat
Florida iconFloridaStand Your Ground
Georgia iconGeorgiaStand Your Ground
Hawaii iconHawaiiDuty to Retreat
Idaho iconIdahoStand Your Ground
Illinois iconIllinoisCastle Doctrine
Indiana iconIndianaStand Your Ground
Iowa iconIowaCastle Doctrine
Kansas iconKansasStand Your Ground
Kentucky iconKentuckyStand Your Ground
Louisiana iconLouisianaStand Your Ground
Maine iconMaineDuty to Retreat
Maryland iconMarylandDuty to Retreat
Massachusetts iconMassachusettsDuty to Retreat
Michigan iconMichiganStand Your Ground
Minnesota iconMinnesotaDuty to Retreat
Mississippi iconMississippiStand Your Ground
Missouri iconMissouriStand Your Ground
Montana iconMontanaStand Your Ground
Nebraska iconNebraskaDuty to Retreat
Nevada iconNevadaStand Your Ground
New Hampshire iconNew HampshireStand Your Ground
New Jersey iconNew JerseyDuty to Retreat
New Mexico iconNew MexicoCastle Doctrine
New York iconNew YorkDuty to Retreat
North Carolina iconNorth CarolinaStand Your Ground
North Dakota iconNorth DakotaDuty to Retreat
Ohio iconOhioStand Your Ground
Oklahoma iconOklahomaStand Your Ground
Oregon iconOregonCastle Doctrine
Pennsylvania iconPennsylvaniaStand Your Ground
Rhode Island iconRhode IslandDuty to Retreat
South Carolina iconSouth CarolinaStand Your Ground
South Dakota iconSouth DakotaStand Your Ground
Tennessee iconTennesseeStand Your Ground
Texas iconTexasStand Your Ground
Utah iconUtahStand Your Ground
Vermont iconVermontCastle Doctrine
Virginia iconVirginiaCastle Doctrine
Washington iconWashingtonCastle Doctrine
West Virginia iconWest VirginiaStand Your Ground
Wisconsin iconWisconsinDuty to Retreat
Wyoming iconWyomingCastle Doctrine
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