Idaho: Self-Defense Legislation Becomes Law

On March 21^st, Governor Butch Otter allowed Senate Bill 1313 to become law without his signature.  This important piece of legislation, which has the backing of law enforcement and prosecutors, will improve the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in Idaho.  Your NRA thanks Senator Todd Lakey and the Idaho Legislature for strengthening Idaho's self-protection laws, along with Governor Otter for allowing it to become law.  This law will go into effect on July 1^st, 2018.

Senate Bill 1313, sponsored by Senator Todd Lakey (R-12), will consolidate and codify existing law to clearly protect the inherent right of a person to defend themselves.  This legislation clarifies that in the exercise of self-defense, a law-abiding citizen may stand their ground and protect themselves or their family anywhere they have a legal right to be.  SB 1313 also protects the right of a person to defend themselves against intruders who enter the defender’s home or business unlawfully or by force, without the defender having to demonstrate that he reasonably feared that the intruder was about to cause death or great bodily harm.  The unlawful or forceful entry is enough to establish a legal presumption that the defender’s fear of serious injury was reasonable—and, therefore, that the defense against the criminal was reasonable as well.

Please stay tuned to your email inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates on issues affecting your Second Amendment rights in Idaho.