California is at it again. The same state that defunded its police and made it harder for law-abiding citizens to exercise their 2A rights is now coming for self-defense laws.
Assembly Bill 1333, if passed, would severely limit when residents can use lethal force to protect themselves or others.
Worse yet, it introduces an absolute duty to retreat when outside the home—essentially forcing people to flee rather than defend their own lives.
What California AB 1333 Does
Under California’s current law (Penal Code Section 197), lethal force is justified when someone is facing imminent danger of death, serious bodily injury, or a felony being committed against them.
But AB 1333 seeks to strip away those protections.
The Key Changes:
- Limits Self-Defense Situations: The bill removes the provision allowing the use of lethal force when a felony (such as robbery, carjacking, or sexual assault) is being committed against the victim. This means prosecutors could argue that defending yourself during a violent crime isn’t justified.
- Weakens Home Defense: While current law allows you to use lethal force against a home intruder, AB 1333 waters this down, making it more difficult to defend yourself even in your own home.
- Creates a Duty to Retreat: If you’re outside your residence, you must try to escape before using force, even if facing immediate danger. This directly contradicts the long-standing stand-your-ground principle recognized in many states.
- Bans Certain Justifications for Lethal Force: The bill explicitly eliminates the right to use lethal force to apprehend a felon, suppress a riot, or protect public safety in certain scenarios.
What This Means for Californians
This bill would put law-abiding citizens in even greater danger. Criminals don’t follow gun laws, and now California wants to strip away one of the last remaining tools for lawful self-defense.
If AB 1333 becomes law, victims could be forced to prove they exhausted all options for escape before they could even consider using lethal force—giving attackers the upper hand.
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California has already made it harder to carry firearms, and now it wants to make it nearly impossible to use one in self-defense.
The end goal? A population that’s completely defenseless.
William Kirk of Washington Gun Law has been raising awareness about this dangerous bill (see video above), highlighting just how drastically it would limit a person’s ability to protect themselves.
What You Can Do
If you’re a California resident, contact your legislators and oppose AB 1333 before it’s too late. Spread the word and educate others about this dangerous bill.
California’s leaders have already taken away so much—don’t let them take your right to defend yourself, too.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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If I get an incurable disease and its just a matter of time, I’m going to California so I can die sooner.
Yet ANOTHER reason to leave Commiefornia if you’re unfortunate enough to live there. Let the stupid left-voting sheeple stay behind and be “good little victims”.
I can’t wait until the Big One comes, and California falls off into the damn ocean. That place is full of scum, perverts, demons, luciferians, pedophiles, etc. Sooner or later God will say enough is enough.
I’m sorry, I have absolutely ZERO sympathy for the residents of the Republic of Kalifornistan. ALL of their problems are directly attributed to the flaming liberals they vote into office. YOU control your destiny at the voting booth.
Grab’em Newscum doesn’t have a chance of a fart in a tornado to win the presidency. American’s just proved during this election cycle they are not that stupid and gullible. They’ve seen through all the dems bullshit, and this last SOTU address proved it.
Gavin Newscum gets elected President in 28, take this shit national, Inform ALL Law-abiding gun owners of this possibility. 😐🤮😡
Pathetic
Big surprise, Everytown For Gun Safety, is behind this bill. The same folks who hire armed guards for their “gun violence” prevention rallies. I wonder if Gavin Newsom’s security detail will have a duty to retreat.
Lawmakers who introduce bills like these should be taken out and publicly executed.
Hmmm… Here’s one scenario I can see happening. Cop is down and defenseless, civilian sees this and has a chance to help the cop but “reatreats” instead. Civilian is then prosecuted for “failure to render aid”. Civilian’s f’d either way. Thanks, Kalifornicate. Heil Newsom!
Cut the federal funding for the states that want to circumvent the constitution. California is due for the Olympics. Cut their funds Once they get some wrinkles in their bellies maybe they’ll get the hint. Then, vote these pricks out of office.
The Supreme Court has already made decisions on these issues. THAT IS THE LAW OF THE LAND. The US CONSTITUTION states the 2 Amendment “shall not be infringed”. What more does the idiots in CA,NY, NJ, et al, need to know that what they are doing is illegal. When is the Federal Government going to step up and put a stop to this illegal madness. The states should not be allowed to circumvent the Constitution. Put these assclowns in prison
Recent news is that the bill author is going to be amending it because it was not her intent to prevent people from defending themselves in their homes, contrary to the specific language in the bill which bars a claim of lawful self defense in the absence of an immediate threat of harm. Current California law infers that one breaking and entering a home (other than his own) intends to cause serious bodily injury or death. i.e., it presumes the lawfulness of use of force against intruders. Which the sheriffs approve of, and apparently at least some of the county district attorneys around the state.
In California the death penalty is still legal. So, anyone who defends themselves from a criminal attacker may be sentenced to the death penalty? Lefty illogical governance.