http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...8089A48EC9F450078625711F00179569?OpenDocument
NRA pushes bill on uses of deadly force
By Virginia Young
POST-DISPATCH JEFFERSON CITY BUREAU CHIEF
02/24/2006
JEFFERSON CITY
The National Rifle Association wants Missouri to join 25 states that have made it easier for people to use deadly force to defend themselves.
The association calls its proposal the "castle doctrine," after a concept in English common law. The idea is that people who are threatened in their homes have no duty to retreat before using deadly force.
"Put the law back on the side of the victim, where it belongs," John C. Sigler, the NRA's first vice president, urged Thursday at a gun-rights rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
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Bills backed by the group are pending in House and Senate committees. One is scheduled for a hearing next week.
Critics say the proposals are unnecessary and overly broad. Under current law, a homicide can be considered justified if a person fears imminent death or serious physical injury.
"That seems to cover it just fine," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said in an interview. "You don't have to retreat if you're defending yourself. The law's very adequate on self-defense."
Gun-rights activists say courts have interpreted the law too narrowly. Kevin Jamison, a lawyer in Gladstone, Mo., has written a book on Missouri's weapons and self-defense law. The bright orange paperback, which he distributes to legislators and reporters, says that a Missouri Supreme Court decision in 1962 allowed deadly force against an intruder only if the intruder was killed while breaking in.
"Once inside the home, he is home free and may fix lunch, watch TV and do as he pleases," Jamison wrote. "So long as he does not attack the owner, he is safe."
Asked for cases in which people faced charges for defending their homes, Jamison said he defended a man 13 years ago who shot and killed a burglar in Carroll County. Though the man was acquitted, the burglar's family sued for damages and the shooter's homeowner's policy paid $25,000 to settle the case, Jamison said.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has no quarrel with people defending their homes, said Zach Ragbourn, the group's spokesman. But the NRA's bills go much further, he said. People who fear serious injury could use deadly force if attacked in any place where they have a right to be. They would be immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability.
"We don't think this is going to cause shootouts or blood in the street," Ragbourn said. "We think it could result in a couple people getting away with murder."
The bills are HB1375 and SB571.[/QUOTE]
NRA pushes bill on uses of deadly force
By Virginia Young
POST-DISPATCH JEFFERSON CITY BUREAU CHIEF
02/24/2006
JEFFERSON CITY
The National Rifle Association wants Missouri to join 25 states that have made it easier for people to use deadly force to defend themselves.
The association calls its proposal the "castle doctrine," after a concept in English common law. The idea is that people who are threatened in their homes have no duty to retreat before using deadly force.
"Put the law back on the side of the victim, where it belongs," John C. Sigler, the NRA's first vice president, urged Thursday at a gun-rights rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
Advertisement
Bills backed by the group are pending in House and Senate committees. One is scheduled for a hearing next week.
Critics say the proposals are unnecessary and overly broad. Under current law, a homicide can be considered justified if a person fears imminent death or serious physical injury.
"That seems to cover it just fine," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said in an interview. "You don't have to retreat if you're defending yourself. The law's very adequate on self-defense."
Gun-rights activists say courts have interpreted the law too narrowly. Kevin Jamison, a lawyer in Gladstone, Mo., has written a book on Missouri's weapons and self-defense law. The bright orange paperback, which he distributes to legislators and reporters, says that a Missouri Supreme Court decision in 1962 allowed deadly force against an intruder only if the intruder was killed while breaking in.
"Once inside the home, he is home free and may fix lunch, watch TV and do as he pleases," Jamison wrote. "So long as he does not attack the owner, he is safe."
Asked for cases in which people faced charges for defending their homes, Jamison said he defended a man 13 years ago who shot and killed a burglar in Carroll County. Though the man was acquitted, the burglar's family sued for damages and the shooter's homeowner's policy paid $25,000 to settle the case, Jamison said.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has no quarrel with people defending their homes, said Zach Ragbourn, the group's spokesman. But the NRA's bills go much further, he said. People who fear serious injury could use deadly force if attacked in any place where they have a right to be. They would be immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability.
"We don't think this is going to cause shootouts or blood in the street," Ragbourn said. "We think it could result in a couple people getting away with murder."
The bills are HB1375 and SB571.[/QUOTE]