>>9894344The Mod never spoke of Federal law, because state laws apply in self-defense, except when the incident occurred on Federal lands.
But there is the law that the majority of states generally use, and in the majority of US states, the use of lethal force is forbidden on the defense of property. As the Mod stated, a minority of states (Texas, Florida, etc.) may enact laws permitting lethal force in the defense of property, but they are the exception to this wildly-held rule.
Unfortunately, the Castle Doctrine (domicile resident free to use lethal force against a burglar in pretty much any circumstance) is only allowed in a minority of states, last time I checked.
Some states have a rule that a victim of a violent attack has a duty to retreat out of harm's way, if such can be safely done, but this rule is NOT applied to people within their homes/domiciles (a trespasser/burglar cannot legally force you out of your home by attacking you). Do not confuse this no duty to retreat from your home rule as the Castle Doctrine!
And the police, prosecutors, and courts are the ones who will take the circumstances of the incident into consideration. Such as if a gigantic, deranged meth-head broke into your house, swinging a machete and babbling gibberish, not many prosecutors or courts will take umbrage with such a home invader getting gunned down. But if an tiny 8-year-old kid breaks into a house, not threatening anyone, and gets shot down by a resident, that person may indeed have more explaining to do.
In dicey situations, it is usually better to be judged by twelve men than carried out by six. But believing that you have the right to kill anyone who enters your property is a dangerous fantasy.