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Let Freedom Ring,
Posted on 03/09/2005 7:45:25 AM PST by B4Ranch
By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff WriterIf a new measure passes, people could use deadly force in their homes and cars.
TALLAHASSEE - More than a decade has passed since Sen. Jim King woke up to find a man pointing a gun at his head.
It's been 15 years since Sen. Evelyn Lynn woke up - twice - to find intruders in her home.
But both remember the events as if they were yesterday, prompting both to vote Wednesday for a bill expanding the rights of Floridians to use deadly force when threatened in their homes and cars.
The bill (SB436) passed the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice unanimously.
It must pass one more committee before heading to the full Senate. An identical bill is working its way through the House.
Under current law, homeowners cannot use deadly force unless they believe an intruder intends to kill them or a loved one, or severely harm them. Although criminal case law tends to favor homeowners, anyone who kills an intruder can be arrested.
Under the bill, anyone who breaks into an occupied house or car would be presumed to have deadly intent. Victims would no longer have to determine the intruder's intent.
"You can't expect a victim to wait and ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Criminal, are you going to rape me and kill me, or are you just going to beat me up and steal my television?' " said Marion Hammer, lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.
The bill has law enforcement support because it does not allow homeowners to shoot law officers who legally break into homes, such as when they believe someone is in harm or evidence is being destroyed.
"I think if you talked to the average Joe or Jane Citizen they would say, "There ought to be a law.' This is your chance to make a law," said David Murrell, lobbyist for the Florida Police Benevolent Association.
The bill does not allow people to shoot intruders outside the home.
"If someone was standing over you and you had a gun under your pillow, you could go ahead and shoot him, no questions asked," said Sen. Durell Peadon, the Crestview Republican who is sponsoring the bill.
Lynn said police told her she should not keep a weapon near her bed.
"They said, "No, you don't want to do that because you will be liable,' " she said.
"They said, "No, you don't want to do that because you will be liable,' " she said.<<
I'm lost here. Liable for what?
Your title could use some work....
FL BANG!
"Bill would paint target on backs of intruders"
Outstanding.
"The bill has law enforcement support because it does not allow homeowners to shoot law officers who legally break into homes, such as when they believe someone is in harm or evidence is being destroyed."
Then they should be required to be in uniform and announce themselves when they break in.
Law abiding citizens are currently allowed by law to register and have weapons in their homes.
Why shouldn't they also be legally permitted to use them?
I live in S.T.Petersburg, and believe it would be a great deterrent to lawbreakers, if they knew a handgun may be pointed at them when they intrude on some persons personal property.
Law abiding citizens are currently allowed by law to register and have weapons in their homes.
Why shouldn't they also be legally permitted to use them?
I live in S.T.Petersburg, and believe it would be a great deterrent to lawbreakers, if they knew a handgun may be pointed at them when they intrude on some persons personal property.
I'd rather it said "Bill would paint target on chests of intruders"
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Let Freedom Ring,
I don't know how accurate this article is. Florida is already a "castle defense" state. You are not required to retreat from your home and intruders are assumed to be a threat to your life. I believe the castle defense theory is just being extended to your vehicle and place of business.
Law abiding citizens are currently allowed by law to register and have weapons in their homes....
Florida does not have gun registration. Florida only requires a permit for the concealed carry of weapons (not just guns). If you're not otherwise restricted from owning a gun (felon, etc.) then purchase one or more, add a large dose of classroom and practical training, then defend your home.
Good!
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Amen - on all counts.....
Fact is that common sense HAS fled and PC prevails. Your home should be your castle, but better study up on the law.
Liable to be killed by the invading goblin..
Or "any place you have a right to be". The way I read the bill (as written a month ago-- it could have changed since then), the "duty to retreat" was entirely eliminated.
THere are some other good things in this bill also, like if you get arrested for using deadly force in self-defense, and are acquitted, the state has to pay for all you legal bills and lost wages.
A lawyer from the communist founded, ACLU, would file a suit against you as a means of creating public intimidation.
This is a good law and should be extended to the entire home property when fenced.
Last time I saw the text of this bill it had language giving the homeowner immunity from civil lawsuits from the criminal or the criminal's estate. I'm not sure if that language is still in it.
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