FL: Bill would relax rules on self-defense

The St. Petersburg (FL) Times is reporting that some Florida legislators want to give people the right to shoot an attacker in a public place.

It would be a dramatic departure from current law, notes the newspaper, but supporters say people should be able to defend themselves without fear of being sued or charged with a crime.

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From the story:

Backed by the National Rifle Association, the bill was originally intended to codify a common-law principle known as the "castle doctrine," which allows people to use deadly force if they are attacked in their homes or cars.

But the version that surfaced in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday went much further, and it is similar to a bill in the Senate (SB 436).

A House committee voted Wednesday to allow people to shoot to kill in self-defense if they are attacked "in any other place where he or she has a right to be."

State law defines deadly force as that which is likely to cause "death or great bodily harm," such as firing a gun at a person or a vehicle.

Florida courts consider deadly force a last resort and have held that a person being attacked has the "duty to use every reasonable means to avoid the danger, including retreat, prior to using deadly force."

But this legislation says a person who is under attack in a public place "has no duty to retreat."

"Law-abiding people should not be told that if they are attacked, they should turn around and run," NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer told lawmakers. "This bill gives back rights that have been eroded and taken away by a judicial system that at times appears to give preferential treatment to criminals."

Click here to read the entire story from the St. Petersburg (FL)Times.