California lawmakers have proposed a bill restricting self-defense, mandating “retreat,” ending crime-stopping protections and limiting force to what’s “reasonably necessary.”
Bystanders intervening to protect others or stop crimes could face higher legal risks. Someone like New York’s Daniel Penny, for instance, might face conviction for holding down a dangerous individual. A Manhattan jury in December found Penny, whose attorneys said was acting in self-defense, not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group, backs the bill, claiming it blocks white supremacists from exploiting self-defense to justify shootings.