Corbett Will Sign Bill Expanding So-called Castle Doctrine

By Brad Bumsted
TRIBUNE-REVIEWTuesday, June 21, 2011 

HARRISBURG -- Gov. Tom Corbett will sign legislation eliminating the duty to retreat when gun owners face a lethal threat outside the home, his spokesman said.

Without debate, the state Senate voted 45-5 on Monday to send legislation to Corbett expanding the so-called Castle Doctrine.

Under current law, a person can use deadly force -- without retreat -- in his or her home. Outside the home, using lethal force to defend oneself requires first taking steps away from an assailant. Now the same standard of self-defense inside the home would apply outside, wherever a person is legally allowed to be.

"The time has finally come to return common sense and good judgment to state government, and this legislation is a step in that direction," said Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County, the bill's sponsor, "A criminal should never have an advantage over a citizen who abides by the rules of decent society, and (on Monday), we finally achieved the goal of returning the right of self-defense to the law-abiding."

Critics call it "shoot first" legislation.

During a lengthy House debate in April, opponents claimed the bill, if enacted, would create a "Wild West" mentality in Pennsylvania.

The bill had been approved by the General Assembly in 2010 and was vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.