Castle Doctrine States 2024

	Alabama	Stand Your Ground
	Alaska	Stand Your Ground
	Arizona	Stand Your Ground
	Arkansas	Stand Your Ground
	California	Castle Doctrine
	Colorado	Castle Doctrine
	Connecticut	Duty to Retreat
	Delaware	Duty to Retreat
	Florida	Stand Your Ground
	Georgia	Stand Your Ground
	Hawaii	Duty to Retreat
	Idaho	Stand Your Ground
	Illinois	Castle Doctrine
	Indiana	Stand Your Ground
	Iowa	Castle Doctrine
	Kansas	Stand Your Ground
	Kentucky	Stand Your Ground
	Louisiana	Stand Your Ground
	Maine	Duty to Retreat
	Maryland	Duty to Retreat
	Massachusetts	Duty to Retreat
	Michigan	Stand Your Ground
	Minnesota	Duty to Retreat
	Mississippi	Stand Your Ground
	Missouri	Stand Your Ground
	Montana	Stand Your Ground
	Nebraska	Duty to Retreat
	Nevada	Stand Your Ground
	New Hampshire	Stand Your Ground
	New Jersey	Duty to Retreat
	New Mexico	Castle Doctrine
	New York	Duty to Retreat
	North Carolina	Stand Your Ground
	North Dakota	Duty to Retreat
	Ohio	Stand Your Ground
	Oklahoma	Stand Your Ground
	Oregon	Castle Doctrine
	Pennsylvania	Stand Your Ground
	Rhode Island	Duty to Retreat
	South Carolina	Stand Your Ground
	South Dakota	Stand Your Ground
	Tennessee	Stand Your Ground
	Texas	Stand Your Ground
	Utah	Stand Your Ground
	Vermont	Castle Doctrine
	Virginia	Castle Doctrine
	Washington	Castle Doctrine
	West Virginia	Stand Your Ground
	Wisconsin	Duty to Retreat
	Wyoming	Castle Doctrine

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

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Alaska

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Arizona

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Arkansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

California

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Colorado

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Connecticut

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Delaware

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Florida

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Georgia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Hawaii

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Idaho

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Illinois

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Indiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Iowa

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Kansas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Kentucky

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Louisiana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Maine

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Maryland

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Massachusetts

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Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Michigan

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Minnesota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Mississippi

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Missouri

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Montana

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Nebraska

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Nevada

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

New Hampshire

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

New Jersey

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

New Mexico

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

New York

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

North Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

North Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Ohio

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Oklahoma

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Oregon

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Pennsylvania

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Rhode Island

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

South Carolina

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

South Dakota

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Tennessee

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Texas

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Utah

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Vermont

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Washington

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

West Virginia

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Stand Your Ground

Wisconsin

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Duty to Retreat

Wyoming

Metric

Value

Rank

Self Defense Laws

Castle Doctrine

Additional Miscellaneous Datasets

Castle Doctrine States

Castle Doctrine States

By Region

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Additional Miscellaneous Datasets

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