Posted on 03/27/2006 9:55:40 AM PST by neverdem
Self-defense protections would be extended to public places
Georgians would be free to shoot muggers, carjackers and other attackers without fear of being prosecuted or sued under a National Rifle Association-backed bill that won final legislative approval Friday.
Called the "stand your ground" bill by supporters and the "shoot first" measure by opponents, Senate Bill 396 is patterned on a law enacted last year in Florida and is similar to measures sweeping through legislatures in at least 15 other states.
The Georgia House approved the bill 115-42 on Friday, after the Senate approved it last month. It now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill extends Georgians' right to use deadly force to defend themselves, now restricted to a person's home and car, to public places such as parks, sidewalks and parking lots. The bill requires that the person justify that they were at risk of serious bodily injury or death. It also indicates that citizens have no duty to retreat if attacked, a matter upon which the law is currently silent.
Champions of the bill argue that Georgians should have a right to defend themselves in public as well as at home, and dismissed charges that the measure will lead to gunbattles in the streets.
Critics insist the bill encourages violence, rather than peaceful resolution of conflicts. They also argue that most of the bill's provisions are in current law or case law and that the measure is election-year grandstanding.
Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta), who pushed the bill in the House, said it "writes this common-sense protection into law so it can't be undone by activist judges."
Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the NRA, said the bill was sound public policy.
"All it does is provide victims of crime an option to either stand their ground and defend themselves and their loved ones or retreat," Arulanandam said. "We believe it is important that the law be on the side of victims rather than criminals."
Rep. Virgil Fludd (D-Fayetteville) told House colleagues he worried that the bill left open to wide interpretation what was a threat that merited the use of deadly force. He said he was particularly worried about how that might be interpreted by young people who lacked mature judgment.
"What might be a threat to one person could very well be a non-issue to another person," Fludd said. "It extends far too many latitudes to far too many people who might otherwise decide it's in their best interest to walk away."
Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) said Georgia already had "very liberal gun laws," including ones that covered many of the bill's provisions.
"This is an election-year, feel-good law if you want to appeal to the gun owners of this state," Benfield said. "If the law is used wrongfully, the consequences can be fatal."
Alice Johnson, executive director of Georgians for Gun Safety, said she believed legislators, all 236 of whom are up for re-election, were worried their votes could be used against them on an NRA candidate report card.
"It was a gratuitous vote. The bill does not significantly change the law," Johnson said. "It will confuse responsible people about what they can do in a confrontational setting."
Staff writer Ann Hardie contributed to this article.
You'd better watch out Georgia. Blood will be flowing in the streets and it will be like the Wild West. After all, looked what happened to us in Florida! </sarc>
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