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DeLay would support 'Castle Doctrine' legislation in Arkansas Saturday, Apr 1, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Gunner Delay, a Republican candidate for attorney general, said Friday he would support legislation in Arkansas to protect citizens who use deadly force in self-defense against criminal prosecution and civil liability. "Clearly we've established in Arkansas and other states that there is a direct connection between people's right to bear arms and the reduction to violent crime," DeLay said following a news conference at which he received a gun-rights group's endorsement. The proposal for which DeLay voiced support is similar to a Florida law adopted last year. The so-called "Castle Doctrine" states that any person has the right to "stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm." DeLay and Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America, both said they expect similar legislation similar to be filed in Arkansas during the 2007 regular legislative session. However, two of the three Democratic candidates for attorney general, Saline County Prosecutor Robert Herzfeld and state Rep. Dustin McDaniel of Jonesboro, said Friday afternoon that Arkansas already has a law on the books protecting people who either injure or kill someone who has broken into their homes or vehicles. Herzfeld and McDaniel both said they support the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the rights of people to protect their homes and families. Another Democratic candidate, North Little Rock city attorney Paul Suskie, did not return a call seeking comment. Delay said the state's current law doesn't go far enough. The Florida law also protects citizens from civil suits, he noted. "We've gotten to be such a litigious society now, there may be some people out there that think, 'Well, I just don't want to get sued, I don't want to take the chance,'" DeLay said. "If you take that out of the equation, I think it would afford people a better opportunity to protect themselves." DeLay, a former state House member and senator, co-sponsored the state's concealed weapons law and other legislation signed into law that prohibits cities from filing civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers. |
