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Readers react to self-defense bill

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State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa and Sen. Tim Bee of Tucson are asking the Legislature to expand the laws governing self-defense. Their bills are poorly thought out, unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

Pearce's bill expands the concept of self-defense to cover situations that are ludicrously rare and circumstances that are so obvious that they'd be well-covered by existing law.

The Pearce bill allows a person to use deadly force if he or she feels that life and limb have been seriously threatened by someone who forcibly and illegally intruded into a home or a car.

Bee's bill, which seems to be modeled after one created by the National Rifle Association and now being pushed in 11 states, is sometimes called a "no retreat" law. It permits someone to shoot in self-defense, as Pearce's bill does, but then it takes a leap and says that if a person says the shooting was done in self-defense, it's up to the prosecutor to prove otherwise.

Both bills appeal to the emotions — what could be more basic than the impulse to stay alive and protect those you love? But Arizona law already addresses those instincts in a reasonable way.

The laws concerning deadly force for self-defense do not need to be revised. If they did, it's a safe bet that prosecutors across the state would have been supporting Pearce and Bee.

They are not.

Rick Unklesbay, Pima County's chief criminal deputy attorney, said the lawmakers who introduced the bills did not consult with him, County Attorney Barbara LaWall or the state prosecutors association to ask whether there was a need for new self-defense laws.

Unklesbay said the proposed laws seem to give a person "blanket approval" to use deadly force in self-defense and are an unnecessary expansion of the existing laws.

Unklesbay said that in 24 years in Tucson, "I can't think of any time we've charged a homeowner who was protecting his home. The law says a person is thought to be acting reasonably if you defend yourself when someone is trying to break into your house."

In such cases, existing law says you must prove self-defense "by a preponderance of evidence," rather than the much stricter standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt," Unklesbay said.

Pearce's bill turns this whole equation on its head, insisting the burden of proof be shifted to the state to prove the shooting was not in self-defense.

Pearce does not seem to realize what a gift his bill, if adopted, would be to various gangsters around this town.

Often, in gang-related shootings and drug ripoffs, prosecutors find themselves dealing with two individuals, the shooter and the dead person.

If the shooter claims he or she acted in self-defense, it's tough to prove otherwise when the only other witness to the event is dead. If a person says he or she shot an intruder because it looked as if violence was right around the corner, how could anyone prove it wasn't homicide?

This is the potentially dangerous situation that Pearce and Bee, two prominent Republicans, may have overlooked when they introduced their bills.

Both bills are aimed at solving a problem that does not exist to any widespread degree. When was the last time your house was broken into and your life threatened? For that matter, how many people do you know who have had that experience?

It is strange indeed that Bee and Pearce, two of the more conservative members of the Legislature, should emerge as a prosecutor's worst nightmare. Conservatives are generally on the side of law and order. These bills are an invitation to anarchy.

Both bills are variations of the NRA-based legislation and should be rejected. Pearce and Bee should shift their problem-solving skills to real issues.