We awoke in Wisconsin to learn that the state legislature spent the evening last night passing Assembly Bill 69 (a law giving homeowners a license to kill) also known as the Castle Doctrine.
The bill passed in the Senate on a bipartisan 26-7 vote and then was returned to the Assembly. All Republican senators voted for the bill along with nine Democrats, including three from southeastern Wisconsin: Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), and Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie). The Journal Sentinal
A state group representing more than 600 criminal defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges and academics also opposes the castle doctrine bill.
"AB 69 changes Wisconsin law by providing a defense for irrational people armed with deadly force. Under its provisions, malevolent, reckless, or paranoid people who shoot trick-or-treaters or repairmen on their porch will be presumed to be acting in self-defense," reads a statement issued this week on behalf of the criminal law section of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
The statement comes from a two-page memo sent to lawmakers by Gregory J. O'Meara, an associate professor of law at Marquette University and immediate past chair of the criminal law section.
"At present, no member of the criminal law section of the State Bar, which is made up of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and academics, can come up with a single case wherein a homeowner was charged with a crime for defending himself or herself from a home intruder," the memo reads.
Emphasis added by diarist
Caroline Biggs in the Badger Herald
Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, the man responsible for this legislative bowel movement, defended the rights of Wisconsinites to shoot people without first figuring out if they indeed do intend to harm you. His logic? When people need to defend themselves, they shouldn’t have to stop and think about whether or not they will be charged.
Kaufert and I agree on that point. If your life is legitimately in danger you should be able to defend it any way you possibly can. The thing is, the law already allows you to do this. When you are threatened physically, you are allowed to fight back without worrying about the law. This particular bill allows you to shoot an unarmed, non-threatening person: something that will absolutely lead to unnecessary deaths.
Resources to get a free "No Firearms Allowed" sign are detailed here.