“In Georgia and more than 18 other states, you would be in no legal troubles, because those states have similar versions of a ‘defense of habitation’ law, sometimes known as the Castle Doctrine or, by its pejorative, the ‘Make My Day’ law. Modeled after a law passed in 1987 by the Oklahoma Legislature, and a similar one in Florida years later, the Georgia version has been tweaked and amended in recent years. Instead of justifying the use of deadly force only when the intruder makes a ‘violent and tumultuous’ entrance that causes the resident to expect to be assaulted, or causing the resident to believe that the intruder is about to commit a felony, Georgia in 2001 added a section to its defense of habitation law authorizing use of deadly force against any intruder — not a family member — who forcibly enters a residence. ‘It does give (a resident) a little more leeway to defend himself without having to ask so many questions,’ said University of Georgia Law Professor Donald E. Wilkins Jr. ‘You shouldn’t have to ask questions of intruders and then shoot to protect yourself. You ought not to have to interview them.’” (05/12/08)