Castle Doctrine

HARRISBURG - In Pennsylvania, as in most states, your home is your castle and you have a right to defend it. Soon, you will be able to add your car. Or the sidewalk. Or anywhere you "have the legal right to be. " The state Senate, in a 45-5 vote, gave final approval Monday to the so-called castle doctrine bill to expand the right of people to use deadly force against attackers in places outside their homes. A spokesman for Gov. Corbett said the governor would sign the bill but was not sure when.

After the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a neighborhood-watch volunteer, City Council called Thursday for state lawmakers to repeal Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law. "We're asking the legislature to repeal that law because copycats are everywhere, and so they are going to test the theory of whether or not you can be the aggressor based on some trumped-up reason that you think you're threatened," said Councilman Curtis...

SOMERSET, Pa. - A man who fatally shot his wife's lover with a bow and arrow will not face criminal charges, in part, because the state's expanded "castle doctrine" makes it legal to use deadly force on one's porch or deck, a prosecutor said Tuesday. State police have repeatedly said they believed the 38-year-old Central City man acted in self-defense when he killed Tony Bittinger, 43, of Salisbury, on Oct. 9. Somerset County District Attorney Jerry Spangler formally announced Tuesday that he agreed with police and that no criminal charges should be filed against the shooter, who has not been named by authorities.

Once more, the allure of the Wild West is exerting an irresistible pull on Harrisburg. In a dangerous policy decision, the state Senate and House have revived legislation wisely vetoed by former Gov. Edward G. Rendell that would expand gun owners' rights to blast away any time they feel threatened. By extending the "castle doctrine," which gives armed homeowners the right to shoot an intruder, lawmakers are risking deadly confrontations in any public setting. More road-rage incidents could prove lethal, with armed motorists claiming they were legally defending themselves against a perceived threat.

HARRISBURG - Should Pennsylvanians have the right to use deadly force in virtually any place they feel threatened? Does your "castle" extend past the walls of your home? Now those questions are on Gov. Rendell's desk. In the next seven days he must decide whether to sign into law a controversial measure expanding people's rights to defend themselves with deadly force - also known as the castle doctrine. In essence, the governor must wade into a debate between supporters who call it a "stand your ground" bill and opponents who label it a "shoot first" measure.

REACTING to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, City Council called yesterday for state lawmakers to repeal Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law. "We're asking the Legislature to repeal that law because copycats are everywhere, and so they are going to test the theory of whether or not you can be the aggressor based on some trumped-up reason that you think you're threatened," said Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., who introduced the...

Harrisburg lawmakers have sent a bad bill to Gov. Rendell. The legislation would make the streets of cities and other communities across the state more dangerous by allowing gun owners to blast away if they feel threatened outside their home or even in their car. Rendell should veto the measure. The legislation would expand the "castle doctrine," which enables gun owners to use their weapons in defense within their loosely defined home, or "castle. " Under current law, a homeowner has all the legal protection he or she needs to defend against an intruder inside a home.

The six weeks since the senseless shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin by a town-watch volunteer have only served to intensify the scrutiny of reckless self-defense laws - like one on the books in Pennsylvania - that permit citizens to shoot first if they feel threatened. So it's good to hear that State Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D., Phila.) has issued a call for gun-safety reforms and to "not let Trayvon Martin's death go in vain. " The legal defense that, so far, has shielded George Zimmerman from being arrested for the Feb. 26 death of Martin, after an encounter in a gated central Florida community, is one that could be used in Pennsylvania and nearly two-dozen other states with what's known as "stand your ground" laws.

A PHILADELPHIA JUDGE said Wednesday he was convinced that a disabled, retired Marine was being attacked in the moments before he fatally stabbed a man last October, but he concluded that the stabbing was still a criminal act rather than self-defense. Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner then convicted Jonathan Lowe, 57, of voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of crime. The judge found him not guilty of the more-serious charges of first- and third-degree murder.

WHERE'S ALL our so-called minority leadership in the positions of authority in this city? I grew up in South Philly, my mother is black, and the one thing I'm proud to say is that we are represented in local and state government. That being said, where are the results? Why is this city no safer? Now, if we had a plethora of white faces in these same positions of authority, we'd be screaming that they "don't care" about the bad minority neighborhoods because they "can't relate. " Guess who else can't relate?

ST. LOUIS - A top National Rifle Association official levied sharp criticism against the national media on Saturday, accusing it of sensationalizing the Trayvon Martin case and ignoring other crimes that happen across the country every day. NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre didn't mention the Martin case by name during his speech at the group's annual meeting in St. Louis, but he accused the media of "sensational reporting from Florida....

After the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a neighborhood-watch volunteer, City Council called Thursday for state lawmakers to repeal Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law. "We're asking the legislature to repeal that law because copycats are everywhere, and so they are going to test the theory of whether or not you can be the aggressor based on some trumped-up reason that you think you're threatened," said Councilman Curtis...

REACTING to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, City Council called yesterday for state lawmakers to repeal Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law. "We're asking the Legislature to repeal that law because copycats are everywhere, and so they are going to test the theory of whether or not you can be the aggressor based on some trumped-up reason that you think you're threatened," said Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., who introduced the...

The nationwide protests over the senseless shooting of high school student Trayvon Martin by a town-watch volunteer nearly seven weeks ago have been rewarded, finally, with decisive action by Florida authorities. In deciding Wednesday to file second-degree murder charges against George Zimmerman, 28, a special prosecutor all but assured that there will be a greater measure of justice for the family of the 17-year-old Martin, who was killed in a gated community north of Orlando.

The six weeks since the senseless shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin by a town-watch volunteer have only served to intensify the scrutiny of reckless self-defense laws - like one on the books in Pennsylvania - that permit citizens to shoot first if they feel threatened. So it's good to hear that State Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D., Phila.) has issued a call for gun-safety reforms and to "not let Trayvon Martin's death go in vain. " The legal defense that, so far, has shielded George Zimmerman from being arrested for the Feb. 26 death of Martin, after an encounter in a gated central Florida community, is one that could be used in Pennsylvania and nearly two-dozen other states with what's known as "stand your ground" laws.

NOT TO SHOCK anyone, but is Gov. Corbett, despite falling poll numbers, doing a balanced job of governing at a time of extreme divisiveness? I raise the question after a close look at a recent poll of Corbett's performance in office, and after noting complaints about him from both the left and the right. First, the complaints. The left, if you haven't noticed, rails about what it calls Corbett's draconian cuts in social services and education, especially higher education, and his support of legislation requiring women seeking abortions to undergo ultrasounds.

HARRISBURG - Could a shooting like the controversial one that left a Florida teenager dead happen here and no one be prosecuted? Does Pennsylvania's recently expanded "castle doctrine" law, affording gun owners greater leeway to open fire if they feel threatened away from home, set the stage for a tragedy like the one that cost 17-year-old Trayvon Martin his life? Doubtful, says Ed Marsico, president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. The group opposed the original bill on grounds it would lead to criminals getting away with murder.

Town-watch volunteer George Zimmerman told Florida police he felt so threatened by a 17-year-old high schooler toting only a soft drink and a bag of Skittles that he had to gun him down. As preposterous as that sounds, the self-defense claim carried enough weight with police in the Seminole County town of Sanford that Zimmerman, 28, has yet to be charged in the death of Trayvon Martin, a well-liked Miami teen with no criminal record. That's because Florida - like Pennsylvania, among nearly two-dozen other states - in recent years enacted a reckless law that gives citizens the right to use lethal force if they feel threatened.