"Defense of Self" bill in Alaska

Frontiersman.com reports:

If a 15-year-old intruder had been armed when Robert Locke found him in the bushes outside his Wasilla home Aug. 7, the boy would probably be dead today.

And Locke, the owner of Sharpshooters Gun and Pawn in Palmer, might have been facing jail or a wrongful-death suit filed by the boy's family if that had happened.

That's why Locke supports new legislation drafted by Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, known as the 'Defense of Self' bill. If passed, the bill would protect homeowners or legal occupants from being sued if they kill someone they felt was threatening their life, property, or family.

'If that kid would have been armed I wouldn't have hesitated for a minute to eliminate him,' said Locke, who found the boy leaving his property with a pocketful of his wife's jewelry, cash and pain medicine when he drove into his driveway late that Sunday night. 'I'm just glad it was me and not my wife who came home. She would have shot and killed all three of them and let the dogs chew on their bones.'

[...]

The draft legislation, which will be introduced in legislative committees in January, would not allow a citizen to use deadly force against a peace officer engaged in official duties. It would, however, protect someone who believes the use of deadly force is necessary for self defense against death, serious physical injury, kidnapping, second-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and robbery in any degree.

The bill would allow more leeway to the provision in the law that encourages homeowners to retreat from the intruder if they know with certainty that they can be safe that way. The bill also adds wording to the original law to exempt someone from the duty to retreat if they are in a place where they have the right to be, such as in their own home.

In addition, a new subsection to state law would be added to allow someone in a motor vehicle to use deadly force upon another during a carjacking, as well as allow someone outside a vehicle to use deadly force against someone believed to be stealing the vehicle while someone else is inside it.