Dear Representative Kaufert,
First of all, I am not one of your constituents, but I am very interested in being able to legally defend myself and my family under the Constitution of Wisconsin and I really appreciate the thoughtful work you've put in on AB69. As we continue to Open Carry and eventually start to Conceal Carry, our law-abiding citizens need some protection from frivolous law suits by criminals or their families. The news stories of law breakers profiting in court from their crimes need to be absent in Wisconsin, so thank you for your hard work on this important bill.
I was trying to understand your intent with some of the bill's language and hoped you could comment. If I understand AB69 correctly, it sounds like you can defend yourself and others in your home, car, and place of business IF YOU ARE PRESENTLY IN THEM WHEN THE BAD GUY BREAKS IN; but if you say, walk up to your front door, it's been smashed in, and you can see or hear someone attacking your wife inside the house, you can't go in with your gun and make him stop hurting her without the possibility of your being prosecuted and the bad guy or his family suing you later... please correct my interpretation if it is in error.
Here is my solution:
895.62 (2)
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"(a) The person against whom the force was used was in the process of
unlawfully and forcibly entering the actor’s dwelling, motor vehicle, or place of
business, the actor was on his or her property or present in the dwelling, motor
vehicle, or place of business, and the actor knew or had reason to believe that an
unlawful and forcible entry was occurring"[/FONT]
If we struck out [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"the actor was on his or her property or present in the dwelling, motor vehicle, or place of business, and"[/FONT]
and then added some language as to the timing of the crime (Following in CAPS) so it then reads [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]"(a) The person against whom the force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering the actor’s dwelling, motor vehicle, or place of business, OR HAD ALREADY UNLAWFULLY AND FORCIBLY ENTERED THE ACTOR'S DWELLING, MOTOR VEHICLE, OR PLACE OF BUSINESS, and the actor knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry was occurring OR HAD OCCURRED"[/FONT]
I believe that this change would enable us to protect our loved ones no matter if we were present during the break in or had arrived just after it happened, because the bill would still protect us against liability.
Many of Wisconsin's law-abiding citizens would also like to see a "stand your ground" section added to AB69 much like Florida's Statute Section 776.013
[SIZE=-1]"(3) [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and 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 to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony."[/SIZE]
Thank you for taking the time to understand my concerns; I sincerely hope this bill soon becomes law.
