State House approves "Castle Doctrine"

HARRISBURG -- The state House this afternoon overwhelmingly approved a bill expanding people's right to defend themselves and their families.

The legislation removes the obligation to first seek a reasonable attempt to get away before using lethal force in self-defense.

"Now there will be no duty to retreat. You can defend yourself," said bill sponsor Scott Perry, R-York.

"Right now citizens have to spend precious moments and precious seconds ... determining whether to run to the next room, the next building or around the car," he said in an interview after the House vote. "That's not a decision that we want our citizens having to make at the critical moment when it might be the difference between life and death."

The provisions apply to law-abiding people anywhere they have a legal right to be.

The legislation is intended as protection against criminal and civil penalties for people who fire guns to defend themselves and their families from imminent threats.

Opponents say the bill, dubbed the Castle Doctrine, puts lives at risk and creates a Wild West mentality in Pennsylvania.

"Do we really want to encourage people to use deadly force because they think they have an out with the Castle Doctrine?" Rep. Mike Gerber, D-Montgomery, asked on the House floor. "I'm not saying [we shouldn't] establish a law that enables people to protect themselves in their homes and in their vehicles, but let's get it right if we're going to do it. ... Let's craft it narrowly."

A similar bill passed both legislative chambers last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Ed Rendell.

Gov. Tom Corbett has said he will sign it.

First the bill must go to the Senate, which last month passed a bill with identical language. Both chambers must pass the same bill for it to be sent to the governor.

The House could have sped up enactment by passing the Senate version, but Mr. Perry said the legislation originated in his chamber and people there want passage of their bill.

Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tracie Mauriello: 717-787-2141 or tmauriello@post-gazette.com

First published on April 12, 2011 at 4:44 pm