A License To Shoot On Sight? What is MT’s Stand Your Ground Law?

Stand your ground.  It's something my dad went over with me time and time again as I was getting old enough to live out in the world on my own.  There are a few things Dad told me to do AFTER I had stood my ground, but I won't share those.  Toren Toolbox stuff.

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But what exactly does Stand Your Ground mean in Montana?

What exactly is the law and what is the Castle Doctrine?

Stand Your Ground, Montana

From Producer:

Any person in Montana who uses force to defend himself can use that force only if they or another person are at risk of physical harm.

However, that doesn't mean that you can just shoot people who are trespassing or are trying to come into your home.  There has to be a physical threat.

Castle Doctrine or Defense of Occupied Structure

From Producer:

They don’t just apply to someone’s house or property.

What’s generally called Castle Doctrine, in Montana it’s called defence of an occupied structure …. (but) we are not dependent upon that statute to be able to exercise that principle of self defense.

In Montana, we changed the law basically to say that a person may use force to defend themselves, anywhere that they legitimately are.

That means if people are in a public park, recreation centre or elsewhere, they can use lethal force to defend themselves if another person threatens to cause them serious bodily harm or kill them.

This is where it gets a bit fuzzy.  Big Sky Legal states:

States that adhere to the castle doctrine, such as Montana, impose no duty to retreat from a threat if the threat takes place in his or her home or yard. Some states extend the right to defend oneself with force to work environments and vehicles.

Again, I can't stress enough that we can't just shoot people we think look a bit shady.  There has to be a physical threat.