Thought some of you would find this interesting, albeit it's only in Missouri.  How does your state compare?

Bill aimed at self-defense passes House

CNHI News Service

— By Sadie Gurman
Globe Capitol Correspondent
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Joplin-area lawmakers gave unanimous support Thursday to a bill that would let Missourians injure or kill intruders in self-defense without fear of prosecution.
The bill, by Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, is aimed at offering greater protection to crime victims. It would let victims assume that anyone who enters a dwelling uninvited and stays there intends to do harm.
Critics of the bill say it could endanger innocent people who simply find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"You have to react to the intruder the way a reasonable person would act," Ruestman said in an interview. She said ex-boyfriends and estranged husbands, for example, would not be considered unlawful intruders under the bill because, at some point, they had permission to enter the home.
Missouri law already allows people to use deadly force when they believe it is necessary to protect themselves. Jasper County Prosecutor Dean Dankelson said there might be some overlap between Ruestman's bill and current statutes.
"I'm not sure if it's something that's really necessary," Dankelson said in a telephone interview.
"If a person believes that somebody is breaking into their house, they are allowed to use deadly force to protect themselves."
But Ruestman said the legislation goes further than current law by giving homeowners protection from what she called "goofy" lawsuits, many of which come from intruders' families against the victims themselves after the crimes, she said.
Dankelson said he has never handled such a case in Jasper County, but he has heard of it happening in other parts of the state.
Ruestman also said her bill expands the definition of "dwelling" to include any inhabitable structure, including tents, apartments and houses. Cars also would be included as places in which a victim could use deadly force against an attacker. But porches, gazebos and anything along the perimeter of the house are not included as "dwellings" under the bill, Ruestman said.
"In its current form, if anybody comes over to your house, an uninvited neighbor, and they open the door to see if you're there, they're fair game because they're uninvited," Rep. Rick Johnson, D-High Ridge, said during Thursday's debate on the bill. Johnson later voted against the bill. "With some of your neighbors, you may be happy that you had the ability to kill them now, but I don't know if that makes for good neighborhood relations."
Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said area residents aren't likely to abuse their rights under the bill, just as Newton County has had no major gun problems since it started issuing gun permits under Missouri's 2003 conceal-carry law.
Copeland said Newton County has seen several first-degree burglaries in the past year, in which an intruder or robber enters a home with a resident inside. He said Ruestman's bill would be a "deterrent" to many "sneak thieves," who he said are cowardly, wanting to steal and be done with it, without confrontation.
"Every citizen has a right to protect themselves and their families," Copeland said. "That's the bottom line for me."
House vote
The self-defense bill passed the House on Thursday on a vote of 132-23. It now goes to the Senate, where a similar bill is pending.

In Florida we have a new and improved "Castle-Doctrine" that allows us to shoot intruders to defend or selves, family, and others. The BG's family has no legal recourse for a good shoot

Quoted: we just passed something very similar. castle doctrin is begining to sweep the country.

as well it should.

Glad to hear it, but you might want to consider adding "in Missouri" to the title of your thread.

As it stands, it's a bit misleading.

Quoted: castle doctrin is begining to sweep the country.

 Do you think it has a chance in the peoples republic of kalifornistan?  

Guns are bad! You should have no legal rights to end another persons life! You should do whats proper and call 911 and patiently wait...........

good to go here in Florida.

anybody know the status of a similar bill in pa?

Quoted: Glad to hear it, but you might want to consider adding "in Missouri" to the title of your thread. As it stands, it's a bit misleading.

Done, thank you for the constructive criticism.  You were right.

Quoted: Guns are bad! You should have no legal rights to end another persons life! You should do whats proper and call 911 and patiently wait...........

Yeah, just like this kid did. www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=452993 Be a good slave and let the Government take care of everything for you!