Opinion: Harris' remark about shooting home intruders unnecessary, unhelpful to gun owners

In a Sept. 19 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned that she was a gun owner and "If somebody breaks into my house, they’re getting shot." Then, she laughed, adding she probably "should not" have said that, but her staff could "deal with that later." The next day, one of Harris’s campaign advisors, Keisha Lance Bottoms, called the remarks a joke.

But shooting an intruder is no joke.

If you shoot someone who has entered your house without permission, you could get into a world of many questions, interviews and maybe trouble. As of 2019, the Ohio Revised Code has included a "castle law" or "doctrine," which presumes that a homeowner acted in defense of another or themselves when using deadly force against an intruder − if the owner "reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety." However, Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser told me that the law does not give a "license to kill." You cannot simply shoot someone for being in your home uninvited.

Lieutenant Lara Fening of the Oxford Police Department said intent is the heart of any case; the homeowners involved must only intend to defend themselves against an immediate threat. Any gray area, for example, a personal grudge or a business deal gone bad, can make the claim of self-defense questionable.

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In many areas of the United States, the homeowner gets the benefit of the doubt and is rarely charged with a crime after killing an intruder. But Mr. Gmoser said that across Ohio, homeowners have been charged with crimes, including felony murder, for shooting intruders.  Suppose a case of shooting does go to court. In that case, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused homeowner did not use force in self-defense, defense of another person, or defense of that person’s residence, and did not do anything to escalate the situation.

What does this all mean? First, you must be in your home, not outside it, if you use deadly force. The intruder must also be in the house, not just in the yard or at the door. If you see a burglar standing still in your home, not coming toward you or brandishing a weapon, and you shoot, you may have a difficult time claiming self-defense.

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Beyond the law and the possibility that a homeowner might be convicted of a crime, there are practical matters to consider. First, if you shoot and are not charged with a crime, you will still spend considerable time dealing with the police to explain your actions. Fening said that you will be interviewed in detail about the incident. The police and the coroner will spend time in your home going over what happened. Of course, if your case goes to a grand jury and then to trial, much more time and probably money will be extracted from you.

Finally, there will be a serious mess to clean up in your home, especially if you kill someone. You would be well-advised to hire a professional cleaner; getting blood and bone out of a carpet is no easy process. Cleanup is your responsibility, and it will be expensive.

Harris’s remarks were unnecessary and unhelpful to gun owners. You have a right to keep and bear arms and to defend yourself. But Harris lives in the Naval Observatory, the official residence of the vice president, in Washington, D.C., and she has a Secret Service detail to guard her and do any necessary shooting. That’s their job, for which they train regularly, even if that didn’t work well when Donald Trump was shot in the ear.

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If you do find an intruder in your home, and you have a gun, try not to confront the person. Stay calm and call the police. If you must confront, don’t shoot unless you are convinced there is an immediate threat to you or your family.  Even if you go often to a firing range and your weapon is in top condition, you have probably not been trained to make split-second decisions about life and death.

If at all possible, let the professionals handle the situation.

Robert W. Thurston is an emeritus professor of history at Miami University in Oxford.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Harris' remark about shooting home intruders unnecessary, unhelpful to gun owners