Self-defense shooters protected — Thank GOD!
July 21st, 2006 | by audit |Armed citizens who shoot in self-defense would gain legal protection from civil lawsuits and criminal charges under six bills signed Thursday by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The bill-signings produced barbs between Granholm and a Republican senator who backed the bills.
The legislation, promoted by gun-rights activists, clarifies when a person can use deadly force in self-defense during break-ins, carjackings and other potentially violent crimes — even in incidents away from the person’s home.
Local prosecutors still could bring criminal charges if they believe someone was wrongly shot in the name of self-defense. But convictions will be very difficult, said Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, a leading advocate for the new laws.
“This gives the homeowner and people who use firearms to protect themselves an added measure of security against the criminal element,” Cropsey said.
While Cropsey praised Granholm for signing the bills, he accused her of acting out of election-year politics rather than personal support.
“Her natural constituency is the antigun crowd,” he said of Granholm. “She knows the polling data supporting this is so high, she’d be nuts to veto it.”
Granholm’s spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, said Granholm forced changes in the bill, such as protecting victims of domestic assault and allowing prosecutors to investigate self-defense shootings.
“If Sen. Cropsey is looking for examples of election-year politics, he has plenty in his own party,” Boyd said. She said GOP lawmakers have stalled Granholm’s plan to expand the popular Merit Award Scholarship because it would be a political win for her.
The self-defense bills make it clear that a law-abiding person who’s attacked — or believes a violent attack is imminent — is not required to attempt to flee before using deadly force.
The laws expands where a homeowner is allowed to use deadly force in self-defense from inside their house to garages, barns and yards. It also shields those who shoot in self-defense from costly lawsuits by their wounded attackers or their families.
Opponents of the bills argued that existing common law allows people to defend themselves and others from violent attacks, and that the bills would lead to vigilante justice.
Ottawa County Prosecutor Ron Frantz, president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, praised the changes.
“We don’t want murderers falsely using self-defense claims without being subject to the scrutiny of prosecutors and juries,” Frantz said.
Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 517-372-8660 or .
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