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Hawaii Open and Concealed Carry Laws and Information

Castle Doctrine and Stand your ground

I believe that your characterazation of Hawaii law regarding "Castle Doctrine" and "Stand your Ground" may be incorrect, or somewhat misleading.

In terms of the "Castle Doctrine" HRS 703-304 provides that while one may not be required to retreat from ones home, the justification for the use of deadly force remains the same as if you were outside your home. In other words, there is no presumption that someone in your home illegally, or who entered by force, is a deadly threat and that you can, without other independent assessment of the circumstances, employ deadly force. Additionally, HRS 703-301, specifically states that even if the circumstances of a deadly force encounter were deemed justified, the criminal, or the criminal's family, can still bring forth a civil suit.

Most people assume that any "Castle Doctrine" includes two key provisions; first, that anyone in your home illegally is subject to deadly force without further justification. And, that in the event that deadly force is used that the homeowner will not be subject to civil liability for said use of deadly force. Neither of those two concepts is correct in respect to current Hawaii law.

Furthermore, Hawaii is not a "Stand your ground" state. Hawaii law requires that one retreat if it can be done in complete safety before the use of deadly force can be used. Commentary from HRS 703-304 expands on the statutory language:


While another section of the commentary suggests that robbery would not be considered a situation where one would be required to give up possession, it is also, not in and of itself, clear indication of one of the five reasons one can use to justify deadly force. The fact that one needs to refrain from any action he had no "duty" to take, is meant to infer that you cannot "stand your ground" in the face of criminal activity, nor utilize deadly force, unless you can articulate, using a reasonable man standard, your fear of one of the 5 justifications for the use of deadly force.
 
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