Self-defense bill draws fire

LINCOLN — Law enforcement officials shot holes Thursday in a proposal that would give citizens more legal leeway to defend themselves with a gun, saying it was unnecessary and would increase shootings.

“We have enough people in the state killing each other. This will make it easier,” Howard County Attorney Bob Sivick said. “I don’t think that’s good public policy.”

Sivick, from a rural county in central Nebraska, and a deputy chief from the Omaha Police Department both testified in opposition to the measure, Legislative Bill 889, introduced by State Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial.

Proponents of the bill, which included the National Rifle Association, said current state law might force people who killed someone in self-defense on their own property or car to defend themselves again against manslaughter or murder charges or against a civil lawsuit.

“Rights are turned around (in Nebraska). It’s up to an individual to prove they’re innocent,” Jordan Austin, an NRA lobbyist, told the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

Austin said 25 states have adopted “Castle Doctrine” laws such as LB 889. The name comes from the phrase “a man’s home is his castle” and refers to a person’s rights to defend his or her “castle” from intruders or deadly threats.

He said of particular concern was a requirement in Nebraska law that people must refrain from using deadly force if they can safely retreat.

While they aren’t required to retreat from their home or business, proponents said the bill would clarify that they would not have to retreat from their car or from outside their home, too.

“This is not a bill that encourages a ‘Make My Day’ situation. It doesn’t encourage anyone to shoot their neighbor,” said Andreas Allen of Omaha, president of the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association.

But opponents of the bill said it was unnecessary because there have been no problems under current self-defense laws.

Under questioning by Omaha Sen. Brenda Council, the NRA lobbyist and others acknowledged they were unaware of any cases in which a person had been prosecuted for failure to retreat from a self-defense shooting.

Council said that while she supports the right to self-defense, LB 889 seemed to open the door for a person to escape liability after shooting someone simply out of a suspicion that the intruder might be contemplating a burglary.

Sivick said the proposal would provide defense attorneys with more avenues to free someone from murder charges and might even complicate prosecutions of gang shootings.

Omaha Police Deputy Chief Todd Schmaderer said the bill seemed to address a “non-existent problem” and presented an “opportunity for abuse” in terms of more shootings.

The Judiciary Committee took no action on LB 889 after the hearing, and Christensen acknowledged the bill might need amendments.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com

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