RESISTANCE TO THREATENED PARTY (SB 1173) – OPPOSE AS CURRENTLY WRITTEN

Link to bill: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/S1173/

Summary of Legislation

The bill will, according to its statement of purpose: “The bill protects the right of a person to declare or show that they possess a firearm to reasonably defend and protect themselves or another against the unlawful use or attempted use of physical force including deadly force.

• The bill has several concerns for gun owners which could probably be amended and addressed.
• The first concern is the use of the word “immediate” in regard to when the threat is present. If a threat is “immediate,” then brandishing or displaying a firearm is likely not the best practice anyway. A prosecutor and jury is likely going to use that word in a way that will land gun owners in hot water.
• We are also trying to make sure that the current jury instructions aren’t weakened as a result of SB 1173. We don’t feel confident that this will expand or strengthen our current law, but we aren’t opposed to sitting down to figure out how to best tackle this issue.
• With the bill being introduced so late, we would prefer that gun owners have more time to digest this issue and make sure there aren’t any unintended consequences.