Politico reporter Josh Gerstein has offered up a steaming hot take about Nick Shirley's work to expose a number of daycare providers in the Minneapolis area that appear to be taking in scads of government cash without actually providing any care for kids.
Gerstein could have applauded Shirley for his efforts, or even tried to debunk Shirley's claims, but instead he decided to spew this nonsense.
At some point, the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 30, 2025
There is no Stand Your Ground or Castle Doctrine law that indemnifies a homeowner who shoots someone simply knocking on their door. That's why Andrew Lester was charged with a crime after he shot a teenager who mistakenly knocked on his door believing it was the home where his younger sister was playing with a friend. It's why Susan Louise Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a neighbor who was angrily pounding on her locked door in Florida.
Even under the most robust Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine laws there must be a reasonable belief that your life was in danger before you can use lethal force in self-defense, and a stranger knocking on your door isn't reason enough to think you're about to be hurt or killed.
After being deluged with rightful criticism for his post, Gerstein tried his best to wiggle out of his idiotic statement.
To observe that something is likely to happen or there's a serious risk of it happening is not to advocate for it happening
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 30, 2025
I didnt see Gerstein's orginal post as advocating that citizen journalists like Nick Shirley get shot. Wishcasting, on the other hand, can easily be attributed to his comment. At the very least he was suggesting that "robust" self-defense laws make it likely that an intrepid investigator will get shot, and that the shooting could be legally justified.
That's so stupid it hurts, and Gerstein was rightfully taken to the proverbial woodshed for it.
1. No SYG in Minnesota. It's one of the only states outside of the Northeast to *not* have it.
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) December 30, 2025
2. If it's a home daycare, castle doctrine would apply in a legitimate self-defense scenario.
3. Neither SYG nor castle doctrine nor anything else lets you shoot someone for… https://t.co/TvhjtijFKI
Stand your ground isn’t castle doctrine, and castle doctrine doesn’t apply to someone just knocking on your door in a peaceful manner.
— Sunny (@sunnyright) December 30, 2025
But we have arrived at journos fantasizing about killing people who uncover welfare fraud. https://t.co/51a6XIRwPK
(Minnesota does not have stand-your-ground laws) https://t.co/TlixpdWCX2
— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) December 30, 2025
This isn’t even remotely how stand your ground works and it’s abhorrent and irresponsible that you promote otherwise in your role.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 30, 2025
People like you demonize firearm owners while recklessly encouraging people to randomly shoot others for knocking on a door. Unreal. https://t.co/X9ga7BFjHu
It's highly ironic that Gerstein's ineptness at fact-checking spoiled his attempt to gatekeep journalism and leave it in hands of professionals like himself instead of "amateurs" like Shirley. I guess we should thank him for reminding us once again why its never a good idea to accept the mainstream media's Second Amendment claims at face value... and Gerstein himself should be thanking a good portion of the X-osphere for giving him some valuable information on how laws like Stand Your Ground actually work.
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