HB 0070

[C. Richard Archie]

I suspect that this has been covered elsewhere, but just trying to stay informed. It would appear that HB 0070 was signed into law by Gov. Bredesen on May 12, 2009. To the best of my ability to discern, it was amended to state that trespass on private property (real estate) and defense of personal property were both separated from the list of defenses against prosecution??

By deleting SECTION 1 of the printed bill and substituting instead the following:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-11-614(c), is amended by
deleting the subsection in its entirety and substituting instead the following:
(c) Unless a person is justified in using deadly force as otherwise provided by
law, a person is not justified in using deadly force to prevent or terminate the other's
trespass on real estate or unlawful interference with personal property.

[johnharris]

HB0070 started off with good intention to expand the grounds under which force could be used to protect yourself and your stuff. Sadly, there are instances where self-defense cases sometimes arise out of attempts to stop property thefts and unfortunately poorly trained (or perhaps over-trained) law enforcement and district attorneys seek prosecutions because people used a firearm "too soon" in the efforts to stop a property theft in action.

The old saying "stop thief" will give rise to a felony charge in Tennessee if you have a gun with you and brandished when you yell it out.

The bill, as ultimately amended, was a waste of paper.