Minnesota Supreme Court imposes a “duty to retreat,” not to say a duty to run away. When confronted by an armed or otherwise threatening assailant, the usual legal rule was to use proportional force. For example, if someone punched you, you could punch him back, but you couldn’t shoot him. But if someone came at you with a knife, you didn’t have to turn your back, rush to the kitchen, and select a knife of equal length. A knife is a deadly weapon. You could assume the guy was willing to kill you, and respond with your own deadly weapon, for example a gun.

But things have changed. In the UK, even if someone comes at you with a knife, you will go to prison if you use a knife or a gun to defend yourself or you family – in the unlikely event you could have a gun. There and in some places in the US, you have a “duty to retreat” if it is possible. Of course, lawyers will argue about when it is possible, so the bottom line is, turn your back and run away. Where does this leave your wife, girlfriend, or other companion when you “retreat”? They don’t say.

The laws of self-defense vary a good deal from place to place. In Minnesota, you must retreat before you even show a weapon. That is,  even frightening away the assailant is restricted. Listen to an expert, for example Massad Ayoob. https://youtu.be/pA5_pdmBI2E 

But the bottom line is that Minnesota, the home state of vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, is very unfriendly to the concept of self-defense, and to gun owners in general. If those issues are important to you, vote like your life depends on it. It might.