By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-15 01:41:02 | Updated at 2025-03-15 21:17:26
19 hours ago
The author of Assembly Bill 1333 alleges misinformation fueled confusion about the measure.
A Democratic Assemblyman has withdrawn legislation filed this year that would have restricted the use of lethal force to protect oneself.
Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, of Hollywood, canceled Assembly Bill 1333, sponsored by the gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety, on March 12, blaming misleading information.
“We have worked closely with law partners and gun safety organizations to strive for the right balance of protecting victims from armed vigilantes in public spaces while simultaneously safeguarding the right to self-defense,” Zbur wrote in a statement Wednesday. “Unfortunately, misleading information has fueled fear and confusion about the bill.”
The assemblyman said the bill was meant to close “a dangerous legal loophole that could allow armed aggressors to initiate confrontations in public, kill their victims, and then exploit self-defense laws to escape accountability.”
The bill did not change the longstanding castle doctrine as some critics alleged, he said. The castle doctrine, also called the “stand your ground” common law principle, states that a person is justified in the use of deadly force to protect his or her home and its inhabitants from intruders, without being obliged to retreat.
The legislation, according to the bill’s text, would have restricted lethal action when a person was outside of their residence and “knew that using force likely to cause death or great bodily injury could have been avoided with complete safety by retreating,” among other restrictions.
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Former State Sen. Melissa Melendez of Lake Elsinore celebrated the bill’s demise.
“Congratulations to my fellow Californians, AB1333 has been withdrawn!” the Republican wrote on X. “Oh and it wasn’t because of ‘misleading information.’ It’s because the bill was garbage.”
Fresno Assemblyman David Tangipa, a freshman Republican, also echoed the sentiment on the withdrawal Thursday.
“When we fight back, we WIN! AB 1333 has officially been pulled. Thank you to everyone who spoke out against this bill!” he wrote on X.
Several state and local officials opposed the legislation last week, including Assemblyman Tom Lackey.
The Republican representing Southern California’s high desert communities called the bill a “complete assault on self-defense” in a social media post Feb. 25.
“Imagine this: A violent criminal breaks into your home, and you have to second-guess whether defending your family is ‘justifiable,’” Lackey wrote in the post. “The misguided energy behind this proposal is beyond comprehension.”
The bill’s sponsor, Everytown for Gun Safety, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
