SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Last week, Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur introduced AB 1333 to update the state’s self-defense laws. The legislation explicitly clarifies that Californians must avoid resorting to fatal actions when they have the opportunity to de-escalate or disengage from a conflict outside their homes, with the aim of preventing violent confrontations.
In recent days, there has been widespread misinformation shared across platforms in an effort by right-wing extremists to mischaracterize AB 1333 as a “left-leaning criminal justice policy” that “strips Californians away from the right to self-defense.” That is not true. AB 1333 is an anti-Stand Your Ground measure that does not impact the “Castle Doctrine” and promotes safe de-escalation when possible in conflicts outside the home. This bill is an effort to prevent unnecessary tragedies and bring California’s law up to the standards used in other states.
Here’s What to Know About AB 1333:
- FACT: This bill prioritizes safety. By clarifying legal accountability for individuals who choose not to take precautionary measures to disengage, this legislantion ensures that we don’t have deadly shootings where we could have de-escalation.
- FACT: This bill promotes racial justice. Stand Your Ground laws dramatically escalate violence, leading to 150 additional gun deaths each month nationwide—with an increase of 32% in Florida’s gun homicide rate alone. In states with Stand Your Ground laws, homicides are deemed justifiable five times more often when white shooters kill Black victims compared to the reverse scenario.
- AB 1333 responds to these dangerous trends by clarifying the state’s self-defense laws to require peaceful disengagement outside the home when possible.
- FACT: There’s more guns in public in California following the Supreme Court’s reckless Bruen decision. Our state has seen an increase in applications for permits to carry loaded firearms in public. AB 1333 seeks to make clear that you cannot shoot and kill someone if you have a safer way of exiting the situation when you’re outside your home. With more guns in more places, this bill is restoring peace of mind to California communities.
- FACT: 11 states have similar laws on the books. CT, DE, HI, MD, MA, MN, NE, NJ, NY, RI, all have laws that explicitly require you to dis-engage or de-escalate, when safe to do so, rather than take fatal action against another individual.
- FACT: Wisconsin law protected Rittenhouse by failing to define “imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. During the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Wisconsin, prosecutors said that Rittenhouse had put himself in danger through a series of reckless choices by wielding an AR-15 at protestors he shot and killed. This bill clarifies that unnecessary violence shouldn’t be the first option in California law to prevent these deadly instances.
- MYTH: This bill makes it so that Californians cannot defend themselves and their families against attacks on their homes.
- This is false. This bill does not impact the Castle Doctrine, which is codified elsewhere in the state penal code—and allows someone to use deadly force in their own home with the presumption that they were facing imminent bodily harm.
- MYTH: Californians involved in violent situations, like rape or shootings, are unable to use necessary force to protect themselves. Rape victims would be prosecuted for shooting and killing their attacker.
- This is false. Any person who is being held against their will and assaulted is still able to use deadly force. This is a common-sense version of self-defense law, and it does require a person to de-escalate a confrontation where they can, but it also allows them to shoot and kill when necessary—in situations exactly like a forcible sexual assault. If someone is in a violent situation, California’s self-defense law would still protect them if they use necessary force.
- MYTH: This bill makes it illegal for Californians to defend themselves unless you first flee.
- This is false. If a person is under attack, and it’s necessary to use deadly force to protect themselves from serious harm, they are still entitled to use deadly force. What this legislation does is make clear that Californians must avoid killing others if it’s not truly necessary—that they must de-escalate or disengage if possible.
- MYTH: This bill makes it illegal for Californians to defend themselves.
- This is false. Under this new language, a Californian may still use deadly force when necessary – in situations where there is imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death. If you’re under attack and must use deadly force, you will still be able to do so. This bill simply clarifies how self-defense law operates in these situations. And it closely mirrors the law in 11 other states, including most of CA’s peer states on gun safety laws
Last month, Everytown unveiled a new report that found that California leads the Nation for the strength of its gun laws for the fourth year in a row. Statistics about gun violence in California are available here, and Everytown’s Gun Law Navigator – which shows how California’s gun laws compare to those of other states – is available here.
To speak with a policy expert at Everytown or a local volunteer with Moms Demand Action or Student Demand Action, please reach out to [email protected].