[fabsroman]

Florida is the state that passed the law that allows self defense outside of the house without having to retreat.

I think that almost all states allow the use of deadly force for self defense outside the home, but some require that you have to be unable to retreat in order to use deadly force. Regardless, you have to be in a position where a person of your stature would be in fear for his life, regardless of whether or not you have the duty to retreat.

Even in Florida, if granny comes at you with her bare hands, I doubt you would be justified in shooting her. Now, if she comes at you with a knife, you might be okay.

Here in Maryland, you had better be cornered at the end of an alley with a 20 foot wall to each side of you and no possible retreat at all, the perp had better be a lot bigger than you and carrying a deadly weapon (i.e., preferably a machine gun or howitzer), you had better have a CCW permit, and then you stand the chance of not doing jail time if you shoot the perp.

Honestly, it is utterly nuts. How many people really know the exact law before they shoot somebody in self defense? Honestly, I would have to ask the perp to stop so that I can do some legal research before I shoot him, just to make sure that I have everything in order before I shoot him. Do you think the perp would be willing to loan me his laptop so I can do the research? LOL Oh yeah, I forgot that I don't even carry because it is nearly impossible to get a CCW permit in Maryland.