Florida bill to allow deadly force against burglars

February 10, 2005
St. Petersburg (FL) Times

TALLAHASSEE - More than a decade has passed since Sen. Jim King woke up
to find a man pointing a gun at his head.

It's been 15 years since Sen. Evelyn Lynn woke up - twice - to find
intruders in her home.

But both remember the events as if they were yesterday, prompting both
to vote Wednesday for a bill expanding the rights of Floridians to use
deadly force when threatened in their homes and cars.

The bill (SB436) passed the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
unanimously.

It must pass one more committee before heading to the full Senate. An
identical bill is working its way through the House.

Under current law, homeowners cannot use deadly force unless they
believe an intruder intends to kill them or a loved one, or severely
harm them. Although criminal case law tends to favor homeowners, anyone
who kills an intruder can be arrested.

Under the bill, anyone who breaks into an occupied house or car would be
presumed to have deadly intent. Victims would no longer have to
determine the intruder's intent.

"You can't expect a victim to wait and ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Criminal,
are you going to rape me and kill me, or are you just going to beat me
up and steal my television?' " said Marion Hammer, lobbyist for the
National Rifle Association.

Click here to read the entire story from the St. Petersburg (FL) Times.