Florida Senate - 2015                                    SB 1100
       
       
        
       By Senator Bullard
       
       
       
       
       
       39-00168-15                                           20151100__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the use of deadly force; amending
    3         s. 776.013, F.S.; limiting the application of the
    4         stand your ground law to instances in which the
    5         attacker commits an overt act that leads the person
    6         who is attacked to believe that it is necessary to
    7         meet force with force; removing references to
    8         threatened use of force; deleting obsolete language;
    9         amending s. 776.032, F.S.; removing references to
   10         threatened use of force; providing that immunity from
   11         civil and criminal liability for certain uses of
   12         deadly force does not apply if the person injures a
   13         child or bystander who is not affiliated with the
   14         overt act; amending ss. 776.012 and 776.031, F.S.;
   15         removing references to threatened use of force;
   16         amending s. 790.15, F.S.; deleting an obsolete cross
   17         reference; defining the term “dwelling” as it relates
   18         to discharging a firearm on residential property;
   19         reenacting s. 790.25(5), F.S., relating to lawful
   20         ownership, possession, and use of a firearm, to
   21         incorporate amendments made to s. 776.012, F.S., in a
   22         reference thereto; providing an effective date.
   23          
   24  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   25  
   26         Section 1. Section 776.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   27  read:
   28         776.013 Self Home protection; use or threatened use of
   29  deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily
   30  harm.—
   31         (1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of
   32  imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or
   33  herself or another when using or threatening to use defensive
   34  force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily
   35  harm to another if:
   36         (a) The person against whom the defensive force was used or
   37  threatened was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully
   38  entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a place where
   39  he or she has a right to be dwelling, residence, or occupied
   40  vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to
   41  remove another against that person’s will from a place where he
   42  or she had a right to be the dwelling, residence, or occupied
   43  vehicle; and
   44         (b) The person who uses or threatens to use defensive force
   45  knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible
   46  entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had
   47  occurred.
   48         (2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not
   49  apply if:
   50         (a) The person against whom the defensive force is used or
   51  threatened is in a place where he or she has the right to be in
   52  or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle,
   53  such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an
   54  injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written
   55  pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or
   56         (b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a child
   57  or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under
   58  the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the
   59  defensive force is used or threatened; or
   60         (c) The person who uses or threatens to use defensive force
   61  is engaged in a criminal activity or is using the dwelling,
   62  residence, or occupied vehicle to further a criminal activity;
   63  or
   64         (d) The person against whom the defensive force is used or
   65  threatened is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s.
   66  943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a place where he or
   67  she has the right to be dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the
   68  performance of his or her official duties and the officer
   69  identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable
   70  law or the person using or threatening to use force knew or
   71  reasonably should have known that the person entering or
   72  attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.
   73         (3) A person who is not engaged in criminal activity and
   74  who is attacked in a place where he or she has a right to be his
   75  or her dwelling, residence, or vehicle has no duty to retreat
   76  and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with
   77  use or threaten to use force, including deadly force, if, due to
   78  an overt act, he or she reasonably believes that using such
   79  force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily
   80  harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent
   81  commission of a forcible felony uses or threatens to use force
   82  in accordance with s. 776.012(1) or (2) or s. 776.031(1) or (2).
   83         (4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts
   84  to enter a place where he or she does not have a right to be
   85  person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to
   86  be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving
   87  force or violence.
   88         (5) As used in this section, the term:
   89         (a) “Dwelling” means a building or conveyance of any kind,
   90  including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance
   91  is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof
   92  over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by
   93  people lodging therein at night.
   94         (b) “Residence” means a dwelling in which a person resides
   95  either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited
   96  guest.
   97         (c) “Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or
   98  not motorized, which is designed to transport people or
   99  property.
  100         Section 2. Section 776.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  101  read:
  102         776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action
  103  for justifiable use or threatened use of force.—
  104         (1) A person who uses or threatens to use force as
  105  permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified
  106  in using such force conduct and is immune from criminal
  107  prosecution and civil action for the use or threatened use of
  108  such force. However, this immunity does not apply if:
  109         (a) A child or a bystander who is not affiliated with the
  110  overt act is injured; or
  111         (b) The by the person, personal representative, or heirs of
  112  the person against whom the force was used or threatened, unless
  113  the person against whom force was used or threatened is a law
  114  enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting
  115  in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer
  116  identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable
  117  law or the person using or threatening to use force knew or
  118  reasonably should have known that the person was a law
  119  enforcement officer.
  120  
  121  As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution”
  122  includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or
  123  prosecuting the defendant.
  124         (2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures
  125  for investigating the use or threatened use of force as
  126  described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the
  127  person for using or threatening to use force unless it
  128  determines that there is probable cause that the force that was
  129  used or threatened was unlawful.
  130         (3) The court shall award reasonable attorney attorney’s
  131  fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all
  132  expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil
  133  action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the
  134  defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection
  135  (1).
  136         Section 3. Section 776.012, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  137  read:
  138         776.012 Use or threatened use of force in defense of
  139  person.—
  140         (1) A person is justified in using or threatening to use
  141  force, except deadly force, against another when and to the
  142  extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is
  143  necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the
  144  other’s imminent use of unlawful force. A person who uses or
  145  threatens to use force in accordance with this subsection does
  146  not have a duty to retreat before using or threatening to use
  147  such force.
  148         (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use
  149  deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or
  150  threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent
  151  death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or
  152  to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A
  153  person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance
  154  with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the
  155  right to stand his or her ground if the person using or
  156  threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal
  157  activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.
  158         Section 4. Section 776.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  159  read:
  160         776.031 Use or threatened use of force in defense of
  161  property.—
  162         (1) A person is justified in using or threatening to use
  163  force, except deadly force, against another when and to the
  164  extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is
  165  necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on, or
  166  other tortious or criminal interference with, either real
  167  property other than a dwelling or personal property, lawfully in
  168  his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a
  169  member of his or her immediate family or household or of a
  170  person whose property he or she has a legal duty to protect. A
  171  person who uses or threatens to use force in accordance with
  172  this subsection does not have a duty to retreat before using or
  173  threatening to use such force.
  174         (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use
  175  deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that such
  176  conduct is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a
  177  forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly
  178  force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to
  179  retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the
  180  person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not
  181  engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she
  182  has a right to be.
  183         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 790.15, Florida
  184  Statutes, is amended to read:
  185         790.15 Discharging firearm in public or on residential
  186  property.—
  187         (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or subsection (3),
  188  a any person who knowingly discharges a firearm in any public
  189  place or on the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway,
  190  or street, who knowingly discharges a any firearm over the
  191  right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street or
  192  over any occupied premises, or who recklessly or negligently
  193  discharges a firearm outdoors on any property used primarily as
  194  the site of a dwelling as defined in s. 776.013 or zoned
  195  exclusively for residential use commits a misdemeanor of the
  196  first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  197  775.083. As used in this subsection, the term “dwelling” means a
  198  building or conveyance of any kind, including an attached porch,
  199  whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent,
  200  mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent,
  201  and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at
  202  night. This section does not apply to a person lawfully
  203  defending life or property or performing official duties
  204  requiring the discharge of a firearm or to a person discharging
  205  a firearm on public roads or properties expressly approved for
  206  hunting by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or
  207  Florida Forest Service.
  208         Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  209  made by this act to section 776.012, Florida Statutes, in a
  210  reference thereto, subsection (5) of section 790.25, Florida
  211  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  212         790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms
  213  and other weapons.—
  214         (5) POSSESSION IN PRIVATE CONVEYANCE.—Notwithstanding
  215  subsection (2), it is lawful and is not a violation of s. 790.01
  216  for a person 18 years of age or older to possess a concealed
  217  firearm or other weapon for self-defense or other lawful purpose
  218  within the interior of a private conveyance, without a license,
  219  if the firearm or other weapon is securely encased or is
  220  otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use. Nothing
  221  herein contained prohibits the carrying of a legal firearm other
  222  than a handgun anywhere in a private conveyance when such
  223  firearm is being carried for a lawful use. Nothing herein
  224  contained shall be construed to authorize the carrying of a
  225  concealed firearm or other weapon on the person. This subsection
  226  shall be liberally construed in favor of the lawful use,
  227  ownership, and possession of firearms and other weapons,
  228  including lawful self-defense as provided in s. 776.012.
  229         Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.