PA Self-Defense Bill Goes To Gov

Gov. Ed Rendell will decide whether Pennsylvania law will be changed to allow people to defend themselves with lethal force outside their homes without retreat.

The state House yesterday sent a Senate-passed bill to Rendell’s desk termed “stand your ground” legislation. The House approved it by a 161 to 35 margin.

The bill enables people to use deadly force — when their lives are threatened by an attacker — without taking steps away from the encounter. Currently, the law allows those protections within a home. The legislation would apply that to public places.

“We urge and expect Gov. Rendell — as the former two-term district attorney of Philadelphia — to stand with the broad bipartisan consensus of Pennsylvania prosecutors and law enforcement leaders and oppose this terrible bill and to veto it,” said Joe Grace, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a gun-control group.-[source]