I did a search but couldnt find anything

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  • blacklab25

    Member
    Mar 26, 2013
    79
    Mardela Springs
    Im sure its in here and has been discussed before. It sounds like a stupid question. With MD being a right to retreat state, are you allowed to defend your family in public or a 3rd party? I looked up uscca and on their site in DE it says you can defend 3rd party( i know that uscca isnt govt website), but on uscca MD it only talks about defending yourself.
     

    cyberalex

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2022
    625
    Federalsburg, Maryland
    Im sure its in here and has been discussed before. It sounds like a stupid question. With MD being a right to retreat state, are you allowed to defend your family in public or a 3rd party? I looked up uscca and on their site in DE it says you can defend 3rd party( i know that uscca isnt govt website), but on uscca MD it only talks about defending yourself.
    I saw a video of an instructor in Maryland explicitly mentioning that you can defend a 3rd party. The requirements for a jury to acquit the defendant because of defending a 3rd party is the same as for self-defense.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    Stand by for either link to , or posting of the Maryland Uniform Jury Instructions for this .

    Short Answer is yes , with similar fine print as self defense .

    Real world - You presumably know what's what with your Family . But a random 3rd Party is frequently not readily apparent what's actually happening , who's who , who's actually the bad guy or good guy .

    If it's not a blatantly obvious Terrorism , or Active Mass Murderer , caution is usually wisest .
     
    Last edited:

    6-Pack

    NRA Life Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 17, 2013
    5,647
    Carroll Co.
    Im sure its in here and has been discussed before. It sounds like a stupid question. With MD being a right to retreat state, are you allowed to defend your family in public or a 3rd party? I looked up uscca and on their site in DE it says you can defend 3rd party( i know that uscca isnt govt website), but on uscca MD it only talks about defending yourself.
    “Right to retreat” or “duty to retreat”? Maryland had a duty to retreat outside of your house.

    Anytime you defend someone else, you “step into their shoes.” So if they have a right to use lethal force then you do too.

    However, you run a serious risk of misunderstanding the situation. If you see one guy (A) holding a gun to another guy (B) and B hands over his wallet to A, you’d assume that B was just robbed at gunpoint by A. However, if A was the victim and used his gun to retrieve his wallet from B by use of force, but you roll up and shoot A, you’re in for a world of hurt because B didn’t have the right to use any force since he was the initial aggressor.

    You need to be very careful about defense of others. I’m not saying don’t ever do it, but make d@mn sure you understand the situation.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    I'm pretty sure that is the instructor who recently shot himself and got in trouble with MSP for fudging his W&C classes via pre-recorded videos.
    How to shred credibility with a single sentence. :lol:
    It would be wise to delete the video from your memory bank. I'm not going to punish my brain by watching it.
    PTP is a less than reputable organization.
    an hour long YouTube video, unless maybe it is of a fantastic horse, or has pretty girls in it, is cruel and unusual punishment.
     

    dblas

    Past President, MSI
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    13,087
    How to shred credibility with a single sentence. :lol:

    an hour long YouTube video, unless maybe it is of a fantastic horse, or has pretty girls in it, is cruel and unusual punishment.
    The youtube video was one of the things he got his hands slapped for. He was using them for W&C training instead of actual two way (zoom type) online training.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    Im sure its in here and has been discussed before. It sounds like a stupid question. With MD being a right to retreat state, are you allowed to defend your family in public or a 3rd party? I looked up uscca and on their site in DE it says you can defend 3rd party( i know that uscca isnt govt website), but on uscca MD it only talks about defending yourself.
    This could be a long term useful thread if you change the title to something like, "Legal to defend a 3rd party in public?" Then others could search for it and find the answers they seek.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    The youtube video was one of the things he got his hands slapped for. He was using them for W&C training instead of actual two way (zoom type) online training.
    Ohhhh. I think pre-recorded snippets could be a useful tool, if properly incorporated in actual training. As I understand, MSP's position is pretty clear though...and that's another discussion.
     

    Docster

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 19, 2010
    9,768
    This could be a long term useful thread if you change the title to something like, "Legal to defend a 3rd party in public?" Then others could search for it and find the answers they seek.
    Correct. Lousy titles are and have been the primary reason for lousy search results
     

    scottyfz6

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 22, 2018
    1,343
    Okay yes we have to retreat, but the best part is there is no law that says how far or how long we have to retreat. It does not say you have to run for 10 seconds or retreat 30 feet. Retreating can be a little as stepping back two steps to hide behind your car. It all comes down to feeling like someone is going to do serious bodily harm or kill you. If someone where to jump out with a gun stepping back a step or three to get space and they follow you retreating is over.

    Same applies for a third party, if they retreat they are no longer subject to serious bodily harm or death, unless the attacker pursues. But then the retreat is done. If the third party runs away safely then so does the right to defend them, unless the attacker goes after you, then its just self defense not third party.

    Every case and situation will be different, it all comes down to serious bodily harm and or death. Be it you or a third party. Even if you cant retreat self defense still exists.

    This is not legal advice, take it for what it is. And what happens in court is something you need to be aware of. the jury may feel running a mile is not enough.
     

    Docster

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 19, 2010
    9,768
    So, retreat until the threat is no longer imminent and one is out of immediate harm..........
     

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