Self-defense, the duty to retreat, and law's pegagogy

Over at the new law-related blog, PrawfsBlawg, Dan Markel has a post about a proposal in Florida to eliminate the "duty to retreat" before one may use deadly force in self defense.  According to reports, the proposed bill says that a person has "the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so, to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another."

Markel makes an interesting point:  "[The proposal] seems this is another example of the challenges of expressive politics: how law both constitutes and reflects our competing values and senses of social responsibility."  He also quotes Brooks Holland's observation that, although the proposal is being characterized in most quarters as "conservative", the "duty to retreat" requirement actually reflects a deep commitment to the value and dignity of life, by limiting the self-defense doctrine to cases of necessity.

Rick