The Senate on Monday voted to refer “stand-your-ground” legislation for study by lawmakers between sessions, at the request of Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville.
Senate Bill 484, which would allow a person to use physical force for self-defense without a duty to retreat, was narrowly voted down in the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of the Arkansas Legislature]
“We have been working on this pretty hard this session. I think actually we got to a really nice balance on the legislation” by consulting with prosecutors and the Arkansas Municipal League, Ballinger said. But others didn’t get a chance to vet the measure, Ballinger told senators.
“But what I would want for this body is for y’all to realize that it is something that we’ll be going with in the future and think about it and get to the point where some of my colleagues will have an opportunity to get comfortable one way or other,” he said.
Thirty-one states have a law under which one has no duty to retreat, Ballinger said.
— Michael R. Wickline