LD486 • 2025

An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon Demand

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor: Representative Chad Perkins
Last action: 2025-05-20
Official status: Taken from the table by the President On motion by Senator STEWART of Aroostook ACCEPTANCE of The Minority Ought to Pass Report FAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 185 Yeas 15 - Nays 17 - Excused 3 - Absent 0 Subsequently, The Majority Ought Not To Pass Report ACCEPTED in concurrence Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon Demand

An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon Demand Sponsor: Representative Chad Perkins Reference committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP/OTP

What This Bill Does

An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon Demand Sponsor: Representative Chad Perkins Reference committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP/OTP

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2025-05-20 Senate
Taken from the table by the President On motion by Senator STEWART of Aroostook ACCEPTANCE of The Minority Ought to Pass Report FAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 185 Yeas 15 - Nays 17 - Excused 3 - Absent 0 Subsequently, The Majority Ought Not To Pass Report ACCEPTED in concurrence Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
2025-05-06 House
Reports READ . On motion of Representative HASENFUS of Readfield, the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report was ACCEPTED . ROLL CALL NO. 108 (Yeas 72 - Nays 68 - Absent 10 - Excused 0 - Restricted - 1) Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
2025-05-02 Committee
Reported Out; ONTP/OTP
2025-04-24 Committee
Work Session Held
2025-04-24 Committee
Voted; Divided Report
2025-02-06 Committee
Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon Demand
Sponsor:
Representative Chad Perkins
Reference committee:
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Latest committee action:
Reported Out; ONTP/OTP

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Printed on recycled paper
132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 486
H.P. 315 House of Representatives, February 11, 2025
An Act to Remove the Duty of an Individual Exercising Self-defense
to Safely Retreat or Abstain from Performing Certain Acts upon
Demand
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 6, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PERKINS of Dover-Foxcroft.
Cosponsored by Senator CYRWAY of Kennebec and
Representatives: ARDELL of Monticello, BABIN of Fort Fairfield, CARUSO of Caratunk,
EDER of Waterboro, MCINTYRE of Lowell, MINGO of Calais, NUTTING of Oakland,
WHITE of Guilford.

Page 1 - 132LR1534(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §108, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 173, §24, is
3 further amended by amending subparagraph (3) to read:
4 (3) The person knows that the person or a 3rd person can, with complete safety:
5 ( a) Retreat from the encounter, except that the person or the 3rd person is not
6 required to retreat if the person or the 3rd person is in the person's dwelling
7 place and was not the initial aggressor;
8 (b) Surrender property to a person asserting a colorable claim of right thereto;
9 or .
10 ( c) Comply with a demand that the person abstain from performing an act that
11 the person is not obliged to perform.
12SUMMARY
13 This bill removes the duty of a person exercising self-defense in an encounter to, if the
14 person can do so safely, retreat from the encounter or comply with a demand to abstain
15 from performing an act that the person is not obliged to perform before using deadly force.
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