Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HB 81 - AS INTRODUCED
                                              2021 SESSION
                                                                                              21-0027
                                                                                              04/06
HOUSE BILL              81
AN ACT             relative to the justified use of deadly force upon another person.
SPONSORS:          Rep. True, Rock. 4; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 4; Rep. Abramson, Rock. 37; Rep. Greene,
                   Hills. 37; Rep. Binford, Graf. 15; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock. 5
COMMITTEE:         Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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                                                ANALYSIS
    This bill permits the use of deadly force in defense of another person.
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Explanation:      Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
                  Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
                  Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
                                            HB 81 - AS INTRODUCED
                                                                                               21-0027
                                                                                               04/06
                                          STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
                                In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
     AN ACT               relative to the justified use of deadly force upon another person.
                Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1        1 Statement of Purpose. The general court finds that inhabitants have both a right and a duty
2    to defend their own family and the occupants of their home. When a private citizen is faced with an
3    immediate threat to someone in his or her household, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that,
4    "Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife." Brown v. United
5    States, 256 U.S. 335 (1921). Further, the New Hampshire constitution, part first, article 2-a reads,
6    "All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their
7    property and the state."
8        2 Justification; Physical Force in Defense of a Person. Amend RSA 627:4, II(d) to read as
9    follows:
10                 (d) Is likely to use any unlawful force in the commission of a felony against the actor or
11   another within such actor's dwelling or its curtilage.
12       3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 627:4
latest version: 627:4