BY EVAN TROWBRIDGE, For The Patriot-News

Helen Steely decided she had enough.



After a burglary in her home in Philadelphia's rough Kensington neighborhood, Steely bought a shotgun. She later moved with her four children to Fulton County.



"I know that when people found out I had a gun, they stopped bothering me," said Steely, now a Swatara Township resident. "I figured if I was scared, how about those kids?"



On Tuesday, Steely testified before the state House Judiciary Committee, urging passage of a bill that would expand the "Castle Doctrine," which essentially says that anyone has the right to defend himself or herself with deadly force if attacked in his or her home.



The bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Perry, R-York, would change existing state law to allow anyone who is attacked to use deadly force without first trying to run away, whether at home or in any public place.



Current law states that if someone is attacked outside the home, there is a duty to attempt to retreat.



The House Judiciary Committee approved Perry's bill, which resembles other "stand-your-ground" laws enacted around the country.



Perry said his bill "flips presumption in favor of the law-abiding as opposed to the perpetrator."



But Perry's bill was just one piece of legislation generating debate Tuesday, a day when guns took center stage inside the state Capitol.



Other measures that were debated included measures to allow communities to impose gun-control measures that are tougher than state laws, and legislation that would get AK-47 rifles off the streets. Rep. W. Curtis Thomas, D-Philadelphia, who sponsored both of those bills, also sought to establish a Bureau of Illegal Firearm Trafficking. The judiciary committee rejected all of Thomas' measures.



Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-Delaware County, introduced a bill that would prohibit Pennsylvanians from carrying a gun if the state has denied them a license to carry. Currently, residents can still carry a firearm if they have a license from another state.



Standing in front of representatives of several Pennsylvania police departments, Lentz said police efforts to crack down on illegal guns in the state have been hampered by residents who obtain Florida permits, which are issued by its more lenient Department of Agriculture.



"That is not a situation where people who need a weapon for self-defense or some other legitimate purpose are being denied a permit to carry," Lentz said. "This is people ... using it as a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card if they are caught carrying a gun on our streets."



Kim Stolfer, chairman of Firearms Owners Against Crime, took issue with Lentz's proposition, saying Pennsylvania first needs reform in its licensing and prosecution systems. "It's more of an attempt to put the burden on the people rather than the system to prosecute," he said.



But of all the measures discussed Tuesday, Perry's legislation seemed to be one that could gain broader support.



With the House Judiciary Committee passing it, the measure could go to the state House floor. Or it might end up in the rules or appropriations committees for further review.



Twenty-three other states have passed forms of Castle Doctrine legislation, and 18 states have approved "stand-your-ground" legislation, according to Firearms Owners Against Crime.



Critics have often dubbed such measures "shoot-first" laws.



"It encourages citizens to take the law into their own hands instead of seeking out the police," said Robert Spitzer, author of "The Politics of Gun Control" and a professor at State University of New York-Cortland. "That is why most police organizations are not happy with these changes in the law, and the concern is that it will increase violence unnecessarily because despite what many people think in real life, it is often very difficult to separate good people from bad people."



Joe Grace, executive director of Ceasefire PA, a organization that promotes gun control, said Perry's legislation is "kind of a feel-good reform."



"We think it isn't necessary," Grace said.



Stolfer said individuals always have the right to protect themselves from dangerous people.



"Gun control — it fails at every aspect, at every angle," Stolfer said.



In recent years, state lawmakers have been leery of enacting tougher gun-control laws.



Gov. Ed Rendell has repeatedly tried and failed to convince lawmakers to allow some communities to impose gun-control measures that are tougher than state laws. Lawmakers have also opposed Rendell's efforts to limit individuals to buying one handgun a month.



In 2008, Rendell signed a bill that increased the length of time someone can be prosecuted for a "straw purchase" — buying a gun on behalf of a convicted felon who cannot buy a firearm.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

