MN bill that would remove 'duty to retreat' requirement from law fails House vote

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted down a bill that would have removed the duty to retreat from the state's self-defense laws, but it failed on the House floor. 

‘Shoot first’ or ‘No duty to retreat’ bill

Big picture view:

The bill would have eliminated the last provision of the self-defense law, and would allow a person to use reasonable force in self-defense "regardless of whether a reasonable possibility of retreat to avoid the danger exists."

The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the duty to retreat precedent in a 4-2 split decision in summer 2024. 

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Matt Bliss (R-Pennington), said he hopes to correct that court ruling. Rep. Bliss wants to change the law so victims would not be held liable for making a threat to use force against an aggressor. 

Both state and federal courts have placed limits on what a person can do when acting in self-defense. 

The current standards include the following:

• The person must not have been the aggressor or provoked the situation;
• The person must have actually believed that the situation created an imminent danger of bodily harm;
• The person’s fear must be based on a reasonable view of the situation; and
• The person must not have had a reasonable possibility to retreat to avoid the danger.

Bill fails on House Floor

What happened:

The proposed bill was approved by the divided public safety committee back in February. After a debate on the House Floor on Thursday, the bill failed to receive 68 votes need to pass the House. All of Minnesota's House Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while all House DFLers voted against the bill. 

DFLers vote against the bill

The other side:

DFL representatives, along with gun control groups, say such changes would make society less safe because it would allow someone to "shoot first and ask questions later."

The DFL lead on the Minnesota House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview), said the current law, which requires a person to retreat if possible, "deescalates rather than escalates potentially dangerous situations."

Executive Director of Protect Minnesota, Maggie Emory, said the proposed legislation would "legalize unnecessary violence, increase gun deaths and deepen disparities in Minnesota." 

State Chapter Leader for Minnesota Moms Demand Action Susie Kaufman said rolling back the duty to retreat would "make it so that individuals can use force, deadly force, in certain situations, even when they could safely walk away."

Minnesota Supreme Court ruling

The backstory:

READ MORE: MN Supreme Court duty to retreat ruling

In a 4-2 split decision, the court wrote in July 2024 that the longstanding Minnesota law says that there is a duty to retreat when reasonably possible before using deadly force, even when facing bodily harm.

The decision upheld two second-degree assault with a deadly weapon convictions for a man who was armed with a machete after being threatened by a man with a knife at a Minneapolis light rail station. 

But according to Rob Doar, the vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the ruling means anyone who uses a deadly weapon in self-defense must look for a reasonable way to retreat before even showing a weapon, or they can be charged with a crime.

"Minnesota is one of the states that does have a duty to retreat. But now with this decision, we are literally the only state in the country that requires you to retreat before you even present a force option," said Doar.

In a dissenting opinion, one of the justices wrote that not only is the court's decision unprecedented in the United States; it also flies in the face of human nature.

That's a view Doar agrees with, saying in the moment, most people don't have time to look for a way to retreat before grabbing or at least showing their weapon to defend themselves.

"I don't think that this is a practical way that a self-defense encounter would unfold. If you're confronted with a threat, you're going to want to mitigate that threat as soon as possible," said Doar.

Doar says the new precedent could affect anyone with a permit to carry in Minnesota and change the way permit-to-carry trainers teach about the state's self-defense laws.

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