Self-defense.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Preemptive Self Defense Act

This act clarifies that people can use reasonable force to defend themselves from an imminent threat and protects them from civil liability if they do so lawfully.

What This Bill Does

• Clarifies that a person may resist a public offense if they reasonably perceive an immediate danger of bodily harm.
• Requires the resistance used must be proportional to the perceived threat and should stop when the threat is gone.
• States that a person's background, training, or professional fighting skills cannot affect whether their defensive actions are considered reasonable.
• Protects people from civil liability if they lawfully resist an offense.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who may need to defend themselves against imminent threats of bodily harm.

Terms To Know

Civil Liability

The responsibility for paying damages when someone is harmed by your actions in a non-criminal case.

Proportional

Matching the level of force to the threat faced, not more or less than necessary.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how background and training are defined in legal terms.
• It is unclear what specific types of public offenses this act applies to.

Official Summary Text

AB 2584, as amended, Flora.
Self-defense.
Existing law authorizes a party about to be injured to lawfully resist the commission of a public offense and to use sufficient resistance to prevent the offense. Existing case law provides that, in order to justify an act of self-defense, an individual must have a reasonable belief that the threat is imminent, and limits the right of self-defense to the use of that force that is reasonable under the circumstances.
This bill, the Preemptive Self Defense Act of 2026, would clarify that a party who reasonably perceives an imminent threat of bodily harm may make lawful resistance to the commission of a public offense and that the resistance authorized is required to be proportional to the reasonably perceived threat and to cease when the threat is no longer present. The bill would prohibit a party’s background, training, and professional fighting
skills from being taken into account when determining whether a party has taken reasonable defensive action.
Existing law authorizes necessary force to be used to protect from wrongful injury the person or property of oneself, or of a spouse, child, parent, or other relative, or member of one’s family, or of a ward, servant, master, or guest.
This
bill
bill, the Preemptive Self Defense Act of 2026,
would also specify that there shall not be any civil liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall accrue against, a person who lawfully resists a public offense, as
described above.
specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF