Under the legislation, the state would expand its current "Castle Doctrine," which says a person has no duty to retreat from intruders at home before using deadly force.
Stephen BrewerBOSTON - A state senator from Western Massachusetts is advocating for a bill that would expand a person's right to use deadly force in self-defense without first making an attempt at a retreat.
Under the legislation by Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, a Barre Democrat, the state would expand its current "Castle Doctrine," which says a person has no duty to retreat from intruders at home before using deadly force.
Brewer's bill would expand that Castle principle to using deadly force in public anyplace the person has a right to be. The principle is called the Stand Your Ground Principle. More than two dozen states have passed either the Castle Doctrine, Stand Your Ground or both, according to the Associated Press.
Florida's "stand your ground law" is receiving new scrutiny after a 17-year-old, unarmed black man was shot to death by a neighborhood watch captain in a gated community. The captain is claiming self-defense during a confrontation.
Under Brewer's bill, called Senate 661, or an Act Relative to the Common Defense, people could use deadly force, or less than deadly force, in self-defense and in public to defend others any place they have a right to be. There would be no duty to retreat from any place that they have a right to be.
"It's just a matter of protecting yourself under strictly-defined circumstances," said Brewer, who is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. "I don't think anybody wants to go back to the Wild West."
Current law in Massachusetts allows people to use deadly force in their homes with no duty to retreat. An occupant must have used "reasonable means" to defend himself or such other person lawfully in said dwelling. Deadly force is not limited to use of a firearm, but could be a knife, baseball bat or other weapon.
Rep. Benjamin Swan, a Springfield Democrat, said he would oppose a "stand your ground" bill for Massachusetts. Swan said it could endanger public safety.
"When a person is armed with a pistol, their whole attitude and behavior changes," Swan said.
The Joint Committee on the Judiciary aired Brewer's bill on Feb. 7. The committee is expected to vote on the bill by April 27.
Brewer's bill would also re-write current law to ensure that an individual will not be sued when protecting themselves or another either in their home or in any area they are lawfully allowed to be.
"The important things to note are that under this bill, you have the right to protect yourself and others; to protect yourself both in your home and anywhere you are legally allowed to be; and you will not be subject to a civil suit or revocation of your license to carry," Brewer wrote in a Feb.7 letter to the Judiciary Committee in support of the bill.
The bill also tightens current law to ensure that a person acting in self defense will not lose their license to carry because of their actions, Brewer said.
Massachusetts law currently allows use of deadly force inside the home in defense against certain crimes causing "great bodily injury or death."
Under current Massachusetts law, there are no protections for lawful citizens who use force to defend themselves, or others, outside of their dwelling, according to James L. Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League in Northboro.
Brewer's bill "seeks to add logical protection for those citizens who are in circumstances that require use of force to defend themselves, or others, any place they have a right to be," Wallace wrote in a letter to the Judiciary Committee.
Brewer's bill clearly defines an act of lawful defense, he said.
The estimated 30 co-sponsors of Brewer's bill include Republican Reps. Nicholas A. Boldyga of Southwick; Donald F. Humason of Westfield, Todd Smola of Palmer and Democratic Reps. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr. of Springfield and Anne M. Gobi of Spencer, according to a copy of the bill.