What is a \"Make My Day\" statute?

Make My Day laws permit an occupant of a dwelling to use physical force, including deadly physical force, against an intruder. They are premised on the principle that homeowners have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes. Make My Day laws provide immunity from criminal prosecution when certain factors are present. If one or more of the factors is in dispute, and a person is charged with a crime and has to go to trial, he or she may raise the make my day law as a defense. The exact elements may vary from state to state, but the following conditions are typical of when the law comes into play: (1) Someone made an unlawful entry into your dwelling. (2) You reasonably believed he or she had committed or was about to commit a crime inside the dwelling, apart from the unlawful entry. (3) You reasonably believed the person might use physical force, no matter how slight, against you or another occupant of the dwelling; and (4) you then used force against the person. Put another way, the laws provide that you are justified in using any degree of physical force, including deadly force, against another person who has unlawfully entered your dwelling--provided you have a reasonable belief that the intruder might use some kind of physical force, no matter how slight, against you or anyone else who is lawfully within the dwelling. Some states with a version of Make My Day laws are Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and New Jersey.