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As our country will soon be heating up with election campaigns, I would like to bring attention to Minnesota House Representative 11A candidate Jeff Dotseth who supports a bill that gained traction in the Minnesota legislature in 2017 but did not pass. If passed, the Stand Your Ground bill would give citizens better measures to protect themselves, especially as crime accelerates in the Twin Cities area and is heading up north exponentially.

There is limited protection for victims of violent crime in Minnesota at this time. The state only allows the castle doctrine for victims to defend themselves in their own homes. This means that there is no “duty of retreat” if one feels threatened with bodily injury or death in his or her home. But this only applies to spaces a person claims as their home, and excludes places like apartment hallways, common areas, and public spaces.

The passage of the Stand Your Ground bill would remove the “duty to retreat” burden placed on victims who fear for their lives.

Dotseth supports the Stand Your Ground legislation and stated: “Minnesotans have a right to defend their livelihoods and property, and it’s time to join the dozens of other states that have passed laws to reflect that right. With crime on the rise across Minnesota, it just makes sense to let Minnesotans defend themselves wherever they may be if violently attacked.”

Sherida Nett,

Kettle River