Alabama voters will decide next year whether to approve a Constitutional amendment that would extend the ‘stand your ground’ law allowing someone to use deadly physical force in self-defense or defense of others on the premises of a church.
Rep. Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville) sponsored and introduced HB 536 during the 2020 legislative session. The bill proposes an amendment to the Alabama Constitution that is applicable only in Franklin County.
Since it was a local amendment, HB 536 could have been decided only by Franklin County voters next March, but that required it passing the House unanimously. Although the bill cleared the House, a representative from Jefferson County cast the lone ‘no’ vote, so now the amendment will be decided by voters across the state.
“Generally on local amendments there is no opposition,” Kiel said. “I was surprised that a legislator would involve herself in what should have been a local decision to protect the churches of Franklin County.”
The bill also cleared the Senate, paving the way for it to be sent to secretary of state John Merrill’s office for placement on the 2020 primary ballots.
HB 536 provides that a person may use deadly physical force with the legal presumption of justification in self-defense or defense of another person if the person reasonably believes that another person is using or about to use physical force against an employee, volunteer, member of a church, or any other person authorized to be on the premises of the church when the church is open or closed to the public when the church is open or closed to the public while committing or attempting to commit a crime involving death, serious physical injury, robbery in the first degree, or kidnapping in the first degree.
Essentially, the bill would allow anyone, including a member of a church security team, to use deadly physical force if justified with no duty to retreat and having the right to stand his or her ground.
“It allows you to protect yourself or those around you,” Kiel said. “In church security, the security person is not only tasked in protecting himself and those around him, but he may have to be proactive toward people in another location of the church. If church security is called to a dangerous situation, they are going to seek out the danger in order to protect those where the danger is located, and we want that person to be fully able to do that without fear of criminal or civil repercussion.”
The bill would provide immunity for someone using justified deadly physical force from civil action or criminal prosecution.
HB 536 also states that law enforcement may use standard procedures for investigating the use of deadly physical force in a church, but may not make an arrest a person for using it unless it determines there is probable cause that the force was unlawful.
The proposed amendment will appear on ballots as follows: Relating to Franklin County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that a person is not liable for using deadly physical force in self-defense or in the defense of another person on the premises of a church under certain conditions.
Voters will cast a YES or NO vote on the amendment.
Kiel said there are similar bills pending for Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
He derived the idea of extending the stand your ground defense to churches after attending a conference on church security held in Russellville at First Baptist Church.
“The church security seminar was sponsored by the Alabama Baptist Convention,” Kiel said. “At that seminar, we discussed the potential for statewide legislation that protects church security teams. That night I saw a number of security teams already in place in Franklin County and knew we needed to do something to protect them from unreasonable charges in the case of an incident.”
With the regular session set to conclude soon, Kiel said the House would have to approve the education budget before it adjourns, and the Senate must approve the general fund budget prior to adjournment.
Kiel said a special legislative session is possible later this year to address the issue of prison reform in Alabama.
