Government - any government, at any level - in a constitutional republic like ours has but one purpose: To protect the liberty and property of its citizens. But agents of government can't be everywhere, and so the citizens have the right to defend their own liberty and property. In the United States, that right is enshrined in and recognized by the Second Amendment.
Not every local jurisdiction recognizes this right, and some even seek to punish crime victims who have the temerity to defend themselves against predatory goblins. Now, in California, a state assemblyman from Los Angeles, Rick Chavez Zbur, has introduced AB-1333, which would amend Section 197 of the California Penal Code - and largely strip away the citizens' rights to self-defense in the once-Golden state. One critic of the bill did a Grok AI analysis of the bill, and it's telling:
The analysis notes that the bill would "redefine justifiable homicide, removing the legal protection for killing someone while defending property or habitation, which could criminalize such actions even if excessive force isn't used."
California civil liberties attorney Laura Powell, self-described on her X profile as a "former leftist, still a liberal," had this to say:
Her post reads in full:
Assemblymember Zhur of Los Angeles County introduced AB1333, which would make it more difficult for victims of crime to claim self defense. It eliminates the use of deadly force for protection of the home and property and imposes a slew of other limitations.
If we lived in a low-crime society with exceptional law enforcement, maybe this would be a reasonable law. In reality, it feels like the wild, wild west in much of California. To threaten to charge victims who try to defend themselves with murder in this current environment feels wrong.
A cursory glance at the history of the Old West shows that most of the "Wild Wild West" days were considerably more peaceful than today's Los Angeles.
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The citizens have the right to defend themselves, their families, their property, and their communities. That's a fundamental human right. And, yes, we have the right, when confronted by armed goblins, to use whatever force is required to protect ourselves and our property. Any law, any regulation that deprives us of that right is constitutionally and morally illegitimate.
It's not clear what Assemblyman Zbur is trying to accomplish here. There doesn't appear to be any epidemic of homeowners gunning down would-be burglars or home invaders, not that it would necessarily be a bad thing if the goblins were a little more intimidated by the citizenry. Here in the Susitna Valley in Alaska, where law enforcement is thinner on the ground than almost anywhere else in the United States, we sleep easily in our beds at night because everyone in the community is armed, and would-be criminals know it.
This bill would endanger the people of California and embolden criminals. It's a travesty. It should never become law. Sadly, these days, in California, it may actually pass.
You can view the entire bill here.