If passed, Senate Bill 1650, sponsored by Republican Senator Michelle Ugenti- Rita, would protect property owners who use deadly force in the event of property destruction, rioting and looting.
The bill also makes it a class 3 felony if someone is “knowingly defacing or damaging property of another person while possessing a deadly weapon”
The bill “Expands use of force justification to include that a property owner or the owner’s representative reasonably believes that the threat or use of physical or deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the offender from committing criminal damage.
Ugenti-Rita cited the summer riots and looting of 2020 and the ransacking of Scottsdale Fashion Square as one of the reasons the new law is needed.
“You need to focus on the fact that you have to have a weapon,” Ugenti-Rita said. “And I don’t know if the victim in that situation would characterize the situation as a minor offense when their property is being vandalized by someone with a dangerous weapon.”
“You should be able to defend your business like you defend your home,” she said.
The bill has passed several Senate Committees and is awaiting a vote of the entire Senate. If passed, it moves to the House for approval.
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