AN ACT CONCERNING THE JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE BY A HOMEOWNER AGAINST AN INTRUDER.


General Assembly		*Proposed Bill No. 729*
*January Session, 2009*		LCO No. 1220

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
SEN. DEBICELLA, 21^st Dist.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE BY A HOMEOWNER AGAINST AN INTRUDER.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

That section 53a-20 of the general statutes be amended to create a rebuttable presumption that if an intruder enters a private home, it is reasonable for the homeowner to believe the intruder is about to use deadly physical force or inflict great bodily harm, thereby justifying the use of equivalent defensive measures against the intruder.

Statement of Purpose:

To permit a homeowner to justifiably use physical force to respond in kind to an intruder by creating a presumption that it is reasonable for a homeowner to believe that an intruder is about to use deadly force or inflict great bodily harm.