Know Your Laws
Legal Resources
By Kathy Jackson
The following links and resources are heavily tilted toward my own home
state of Washington. That's simply because I've done most of my research
into laws that affect me personally. If you believe that your state laws
should be listed here, please
send me your well-organized links and I'll put them up for others
to use. Thanks!
Throughout the United States
Armed Citizens' Legal Defense
Network, a membership organization which is your first, best resource
for information related to using deadly force in self defense. Why you should join:
not only does the ACLDN provide solid information to its members about the current
state of self defense laws and the realities of legal interactions, it also provides
instant access to use-of-force experts immediately following a crisis. The ACLDN
exists to educate members about the legalities of using deadly force for self-defense
and how to interact with the criminal justice system after a shooting; create a
nationwide network of attorneys and legal experts which the member can draw upon
in the event of a self-defense shooting; and grant financial assistance from a separate
non-profit foundation to members who are facing unmeritorious prosecution or civil
action after a self-defense incident.
Handgun Law dot U.S.
is an excellent site which provides links to law databases in all 50 states.
The interface includes clickable maps and there's an overall very visual
feel to the site. It's the best place to start your research about the
laws in your particular state.
Gunlaws dot Com,
in addition to providing links to various legal databases, also offers
many different books for sale providing plain English summaries of state
and national laws. Of particular interest are the state gun guides. While
books like these are not available in every state, such a book can be
a handy addition to the library if you're fortunate enough to live in
one of the covered states.
In the Gravest Extreme, a book written by Massad
Ayoob, provides a solid foundation for understanding common laws governing
the use of firearms in self-defense in the United States. While it does
not provide information about specific state laws, it does an excellent
job giving the reader a solid understanding and overview of lethal force
as it is seen within the legal system throughout the United States. Armed
with this book, readers learn many ways to protect themselves not just
from criminals, but from a possible miscarriage of justice after a deadly
force attack.
Lethal Force Institute,
based in New Hampshire, offers classes throughout the United States which
teach ordinary citizens all about the use of deadly force. Some of their
classes are certified to provide continuing-education credits for lawyers
through the ABA, so you know you can trust the information presented.
Classes to consider:
- Judicious Use of Deadly Force. This is a classroom-only weekend
course which provides a very intensive exploration of the legal, ethical,
and moral parameters of defending oneself and others with lethal force.
The two points of emphasis are "street survival" and "court
survival." Throughout, the thrust is on developing a mindset that
allow you to cope with life-threatening stress while remaining totally
defensible in a court of law. Judges and attorneys who've taken the class
say that the deadly force training therein exceeds that taught in law
school; police instructors who've taken this two-day, intensive weekend
lecture-and-video program agree that it goes far beyond the police academy
as well. Cost for this 20-hour class is $400 as of August 2006.
- LFI-1. Take the above intensive classroom experience, and then
marry it to another very full weekend spent on the range learning physical
skills and shooting techniques designed to help students avoid, or survive
and prevail, a deadly force encounter. This total of 40 hours spent in
the classroom and then on the range learning survival techniques provides
the total package which makes up LFI-1. (See my review of this course
here.)
Use of Force,
written by Brandon Oto, provides an excellent online overview of the legal
underpinnings of justifiable self-defense.
The NRA has nearly always
been a good and reliable source for legal information.
- NRA-ILA
provides information about federal and state firearms laws at this link,
and is especially useful in researching hot-button political topics and fresh
legislation.
Second Amendment Foundation
(SAF) is another watchdog organization which is an especially good source of information
about pending legislation.
The BATFE is the federal
department which oversees federal firearms laws in the United States.
If you have a question about federal law and cannot find an answer anywhere
else, you can address your query to the BATFE. The BATFE website has an
excellent resource page with links to federal and state laws at this
link.
Cornell Law School
provides links to the federal code governing
firearms and
transporting firearms between states.
Washington State
Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities,
written by Dave Workman, is an excellent paper guide to the firearms laws
and general legal climate in Washington. It can be purchased through D&D Gunleather.
Laws and Agency
Rules -- This page provides links to the State Constitution,
RCWs (laws) and WACs (regulations), as well as information about current
and pending legislation.
Search
RCWs and other laws -- this link goes to a flexible search
engine which searches all current and pending legislation, administrative
codes, and laws in Washington state.
RCW Washington
-- this is a table of contents for the Revised Code of Washington (RCW),
which is the primary source of law in our state. RCW chapters 9 and 9A
contain significant amounts of firearms-specific law.
WA Laws about self-defense:
RCW
9A.32 is the chapter which defines the different types of homicide
in Washington law, including murder, murder by abuse, manslaughter, excusable
homicide, or justifiable homicide. Excusable homicide and justifiable
homicide are further discussed under
RCW 9A.16.030,
RCW 9A.16.040, and
RCW 9A.16.050.
RCW 9A.16.030
defines the limits of excusable homicide. Excusable homicide could apply
if a defendant accidentally kills an innocent person during an otherwise
lawful attempt to defend herself. Horrible thought!
RCW 9A.16.050 defines justifiable homicide and explains
when deadly force is justified for an ordinary citizen. This is a different
and much broader standard than the one given in
RCW 9A.16.040, which governs use of deadly force by police officers
or people assisting the police.
RCW 9A.16.110 establishes that the state will pay the entire
cost of the trial, private attorney's fees and all, if your actions are
found at trial to be justified by legitimate self-defense. The
exact amount will be determined by the judge at the conclusion of the
trial, and may be reduced if you were guilty of some sort of misbehavior
that egged it on to begin with. You won't get a dime if your case never
goes to trial, no matter how much you spent on legal defense to avoid
being charged in the first place.
WA Laws about firearms and firearms ownership:
RCW 9.41
is the statute which governs firearms ownership. It explains who may and
who may not own a firearm, and which firearms are legal under state law.
WA Laws about concealed pistol licenses:
RCW 9.41.070
discusses the issuance of concealed pistol licenses, and defines which
areas are off-limits to carry. Washington is a shall-issue state for persons
21 or over.