Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0787 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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1010 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to the use or threatened use of force; 2
1616 providing a short title; amending ss. 776.012 and 3
1717 776.031, F.S.; deleting provisions stating that 4
1818 persons who use or threaten to use force, other than 5
1919 deadly force, do not have a duty to retreat before 6
2020 using or threatening to use such force in defense of 7
2121 persons or property, respectively; prohibiting the use 8
2222 of deadly force by a person who knows that he or she 9
2323 can avoid the necessity of using deadly force with 10
2424 complete safety by retreating; deleting provisions 11
2525 stating that a person using or threatening to use 12
2626 deadly force does not have a duty to retreat and has 13
2727 the right to stand his or her ground under certain 14
2828 circumstances; repealing s. 776.032, F.S., relating to 15
2929 immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action 16
3030 for justifiable use or threatened use of force; 17
3131 reenacting s. 790.25(4)(c), F.S., relating to lawful 18
3232 ownership, possession, and use of firearms and other 19
3333 weapons, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 20
3434 776.012, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 21
3535 effective date. 22
3636 23
3737 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
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4747 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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5151 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Self -Defense 26
5252 Restoration Act." 27
5353 Section 2. Section 776.012, Florida Statutes, is amended 28
5454 to read: 29
5555 776.012 Use or threatened use of force in defense of 30
5656 person.— 31
5757 (1) A person is justified in using or threatening to use 32
5858 force, except deadly force, against another when and to the 33
5959 extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is 34
6060 necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the 35
6161 other's imminent use of unlawful force. A person who uses or 36
6262 threatens to use force in accordance with this subsection does 37
6363 not have a duty to retreat before using or threatening to use 38
6464 such force. 39
6565 (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use 40
6666 deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or 41
6767 threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent 42
6868 death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or 43
6969 to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A 44
7070 person may not who uses or threatens to use deadly force in 45
7171 accordance with this subsection if the person knows that he or 46
7272 she can, with complete safety, avoid the necessity of using 47
7373 deadly force by retreating does not have a duty to retreat and 48
7474 has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or 49
7575 threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal 50
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8484 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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8888 activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be . 51
8989 Section 3. Section 776.031, Florida Statutes, is amended 52
9090 to read: 53
9191 776.031 Use or threatened use of force in defense of 54
9292 property.— 55
9393 (1) A person is justified in using or threatening to use 56
9494 force, except deadly force, against another when and to the 57
9595 extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is 58
9696 necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on, or 59
9797 other tortious or criminal interference with, either real 60
9898 property other than a dwelli ng or personal property, lawfully in 61
9999 his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a 62
100100 member of his or her immediate family or household or of a 63
101101 person whose property he or she has a legal duty to protect. A 64
102102 person who uses or threatens to us e force in accordance with 65
103103 this subsection does not have a duty to retreat before using or 66
104104 threatening to use such force. 67
105105 (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use 68
106106 deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that such 69
107107 conduct is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a 70
108108 forcible felony. A person may not who uses or threatens to use 71
109109 deadly force in accordance with this subsection if the person 72
110110 knows that he or she can, with complete safety, avoid the 73
111111 necessity of using deadly force by retreating does not have a 74
112112 duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if 75
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121121 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125125 the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not 76
126126 engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she 77
127127 has a right to be. 78
128128 Section 4. Section 776.032, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 79
129129 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 80
130130 made by this act to section 776.012, Florida Statutes, in a 81
131131 reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 82
132132 790.25, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 83
133133 790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms 84
134134 and other weapons.— 85
135135 (4) POSSESSION IN PRIVATE CONVEYANCE. — 86
136136 (c) This subsection shall be liberally construed in favor 87
137137 of the lawful use, ownership, and possession of firearms and 88
138138 other weapons, including lawful self -defense as provided in s. 89
139139 776.012. 90
140140 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 91