MN Supreme Court duty to retreat ruling

(FOX 9) - When the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld two second-degree assault with a deadly weapon convictions against a man with a machete who was threatened by a man with a knife at a Minneapolis light rail station, the state's highest court also set a new precedent involving Minnesota's self-defense laws.

In a 4-2 split decision, the court wrote that longstanding Minnesota law says that there is a duty to retreat when reasonably possible before using deadly force, even when facing bodily harm.

But according to Rob Doar, the vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the ruling means anyone who uses a deadly weapon in self-defense must look for a reasonable way to retreat before even showing a weapon, or they can be charged with a crime.

"Minnesota is one of the states that does have a duty to retreat. But now with this decision, we are literally the only state in the country that requires you to retreat before you even present a force option," said Doar.

In a dissenting opinion, one of the justices wrote not only is the court's decision unprecedented in the United States; it also flies in the face of human nature.

That's a view Doar agrees with, saying in the moment, most people don't have time to look for a way to retreat before grabbing or at least showing their weapon to defend themselves.

"I don't think that this is a practical way that a self-defense encounter would unfold. If you're confronted with a threat, you're going to want to mitigate that threat as soon as possible," said Doar.

Doar says the new precedent could affect anyone with a permit to carry in Minnesota and change the way permit-to-carry trainers teach about the state's self-defense laws.