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As New York Democrats propose cracking down on gun trafficking amid a crime wave, the areas state senator has a different proposal.

Sen. George Borrello, R-Chautauqua County, is sponsoring a bill implementing a Stand Your Ground law in New York, which would remove the legal duty to retreat from a threat outside the home before using lethal force, as well as granting immunity in criminal and civil cases.

Every one of us has a fundamental right to self-defense. But in practice, the right to self-defense is limited to our homes in New York, Borrello said in a news release Thursday announcing the legislation. The duty to retreat clause, requires New Yorkers to retreat from a violent aggressor when in public before they can defend themselves and their loved ones. The only place a New Yorker is not required to retreat from a violent criminal is when they are inside their homes.

Does that make any sense?, Borrello added. Who would allow themselves to be shot or stabbed before they can take action to defend their lives?

The bill would make defenders immune from criminal and civil liability for use of a weapon in self defense from brandishing a firearm to dissuade an attacker to homicide.

You look at surveys right now, and people dont feel safe people are concerned, Borrello told the Times Herald, noting crime across the state has increased over the past two years.

Borrello said a 2018 shooting in Ellicottville is a prime example of how the law would help New Yorkers defending their lives.

In 2018, Damien Marvin was charged with assault after claiming he shot a man after he was attacked. Marvin was acquitted at trial after a 45-minute deliberation. A civil lawsuit filed in 2019 by the man who was shot ended in an undisclosed settlement in 2021, according to court records.

Here is a guy that was acquitted criminally, but then had to defend himself in a civil case, Borrello said, having to pay a high price for a legal defense. If Stand Your Ground was in place specifically the immunity for civil torts Borrello said he likely would have not have had to endure that civil lawsuit.

The bill has four cosponsors all Republicans. Democrats control 43 seats in the 63-seat chamber, as well as the lower Assembly and the governors office, so the measure faces an uphill climb in Albany.

A similar bill introduced in the 2019-20 legislative session which Borrello co-sponsored died in committee.

Borrello acknowledged the difficulty he faces to pass the bill, but he said the focus should be on gauging the positions of government leaders.

You should be able to ask your legislators their position, he said, noting it is an election year for the Legislature and governor and important for voters to know where officials stand on such issues.

Blocking Stand Your Ground legislation is another example, Borrello accused, of Democrats in Albany protecting criminals over victims, like with the elimination of cash bail for most low-level offenses in 2019 legislation that was partially rolled back in 2020 to allow bail for more charges.

Borrello and other Republicans have been critical of bail reform going into the 2022 election, noting some high-profile repeat offenders have been charged multiple times between their first arrest and adjudication. In addition, they argue the legislation blocks judges from considering risk to the community in their determination of bail.

While most states have Stand Your Ground laws in place, six other states require those being attacked to attempt to retreat before using lethal force outside the home. In-home defense is traditionally covered under the castle doctrine of common law. Three states expand the castle doctrine to home and workplaces, while Wisconsin also extends it to motor vehicles.

The National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups have lobbied for Stand Your Ground legislation in many states with Republican-controlled legislatures, including a push in Arkansas that led to its enactment in 2021. Democrats and anti-gun groups, such as the Giffords Center to Prevent Gun Violence, portray such legislation as making it easier to get away with murder, or referring to the proposals as Make My Day or Shoot First bills.

The RAND Corp., a nonprofit think tank, reported in 2020 that a review of existing scientific studies there is supportive evidence that Stand Your Ground laws increase firearms homicides both justified and unjustified with inconclusive evidence on impacts on suicides, mass shootings, defensive gun use or gun industry outcomes.

Borrello dismissed the concern.

Im not going to stand here and talk about studies when you have a fundamental right to self defense, he said, adding that restricting the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers outside the home is wrong, and that is what this law would correct.

Originally posted here:
Borrello: Stand Your Ground is 'a fundamental right' - Olean Times Herald