Judge denies 'stand your ground' motion in retired OPD officer's shooting of son

[Starboard Tack]

19. Illinois Law is not the same. There is a duty to retreat outside the home.

There is a movement to make Illinois like Florida. This guy says it better than anyone "SYG laws circumvent the fundamental duty to avoid conflict"

Illinois currently does not have a similar law, but Illinois lawmakers continue to push for a similar version of the law. The basis for "Stand Your Ground" laws is that individuals should be able to use deadly force when they believe their lives might be in danger instead of seeking to avoid conflict at all cost. Duty to retreat is a fundamental principle of the law which asserts that if individuals are physically confronted with a clear and present danger while outside of their homes, they have the obligation to remove themselves from harm's way if at all possible, thereby avoiding the need to use deadly force in self-defense. The main difference between Illinois’ self defense law and Florida’s stand your ground law, is that in Florida, an individual is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if they reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. In Illinois, the statute does not carve out a specific exception to the duty to retreat. Therefore, had the event occurred in Illinois, Zimmerman would likely be held liable for his failure to avoid the situation. As such, individuals in Illinois should retreat whenever possible, and only resort to force and deadly force when faced with imminent injury or death.

The “Stand Your Ground” laws circumvent the fundamental duty to avoid conflict, and the enactment runs the risk of creating a Wild West mentality when it comes to mitigating violence and gun deaths. In states that have enacted "stand your ground" laws, individuals who evoke this defense are, in effect, acting as judge, jury, and executioner. With Illinois already suffering from high incidences of violence, the “Stand Your Ground” law is not a viable option.
http://lavellelaw.com/criminal/stand-your-ground-law-trayvon-martin