1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; expanding the right to use deadly force during declared 
1.3 	states of emergency;amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 609.065; proposing 
1.4 	coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 609.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 609.065, is amended to read:
1.7 	609.065 JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE.
1.8 	Except as provided for in section 609.067, the intentional taking of the life of another 
1.9 	is not authorized by section 609.06, except when necessary in resisting or preventing an 
1.10 	offense which the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily 
1.11 	harm or death, or preventing the commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode.

1.12 	Sec. 2. [609.067] JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE DURING A STATE OF 
1.13 	EMERGENCY.
1.14 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the terms in this subdivision 
1.15 	have the meanings given them.
1.16 	(b) "Business" means a private place of employment that is operated in a commercial 
1.17 	building.
1.18 	(c) "Court order" means an order for protection issued under section 518B.01, a 
1.19 	restraining order issued under section 609.748, a no contact order issued under section 
1.20 	629.75, or a substantively similar order issued by any court in this state, another state, the 
1.21 	United States, or any subordinate jurisdiction of the United States.
2.1 	(d) "Deadly force" means force used by an individual with the purpose of causing, or 
2.2 	which the individual should reasonably know creates a substantial risk of causing, great 
2.3 	bodily harm or death. The intentional discharge of a firearm by an individual at another 
2.4 	person, or at a vehicle in which another person is believed to be, constitutes deadly force. 
2.5 	A threat to cause great bodily harm or death, by the production of a weapon or otherwise, 
2.6 	constitutes reasonable force and not deadly force when the individual's objective is limited 
2.7 	to creating an expectation that the individual will use deadly force only if authorized by 
2.8 	law.
2.9 	(e) "Dwelling" means a building defined under section 609.556, subdivision 3, an 
2.10 	overnight stopping accommodation of any kind, or a place of abode, that an individual 
2.11 	temporarily or permanently is occupying or intending to occupy as a habitation or home. 
2.12 	A dwelling includes but is not limited to a building or conveyance and that building's or 
2.13 	conveyance's curtilage and any attached or adjacent deck, porch, appurtenance, or other 
2.14 	structure, whether the building or conveyance is used temporarily or permanently for these 
2.15 	purposes, is mobile or immobile, or is a motor vehicle, watercraft, motor home, tent, or the 
2.16 	equivalent.
2.17 	(f) "Good faith" includes honesty in fact in the conduct of the act concerned.
2.18 	(g) "Great bodily harm" has the meaning given in section 609.02, subdivision 8.
2.19 	(h) "Imminent" means the actor infers from all the facts and circumstances that the course 
2.20 	of conduct has commenced.
2.21 	(i) "Substantial bodily harm" has the meaning given in section 609.02, subdivision 7a.
2.22 	(j) "Vehicle" means a conveyance of any type.
2.23 		Subd. 2.Circumstances when authorized. (a) The use of deadly force by an individual 
2.24 	is justified during a state of emergency declared under either section 12.29 or 12.31 when 
2.25 	the act is undertaken:
2.26 	(1) to resist or prevent the commission of a crime of violence, as that term is defined in 
2.27 	section 624.712, subdivision 5, in the individual's dwelling or a business owned by the 
2.28 	individual; or
2.29 	(2) to resist or prevent what the individual reasonably believes is an offense or attempted 
2.30 	offense that imminently exposes the individual or another person to substantial bodily harm, 
2.31 	great bodily harm, or death.
2.32 	(b) The use of deadly force is not authorized under this section if the individual knows 
2.33 	that the person against whom force is being used is a licensed peace officer from this state, 
3.1 	another state, the United States, or any subordinate jurisdiction of the United States who is 
3.2 	acting lawfully.
3.3 		Subd. 3.Degree of force; retreat. An individual taking defensive action pursuant to 
3.4 	subdivision 2 may use all force and means, including deadly force, which the individual in 
3.5 	good faith believes is required to succeed in defense. The individual may meet force with 
3.6 	superior force when the individual's objective is defensive, the individual is not required to 
3.7 	retreat, and the individual may continue defensive actions against an assailant until the 
3.8 	danger has ended.
3.9 		Subd. 4.Presumptions. (a) An individual using deadly force is presumed to possess a 
3.10 	reasonable belief that there exists an imminent threat of substantial bodily harm, great bodily 
3.11 	harm, or death to the individual or another person, if the individual knows or has reason to 
3.12 	know that:
3.13 	(1) the person against whom the defensive action is being taken is unlawfully entering 
3.14 	or attempting to enter by force or by stealth, or has unlawfully entered by force or by stealth 
3.15 	and remains within the dwelling or occupied vehicle of the individual or a business owned 
3.16 	by the individual; or
3.17 	(2) the person against whom the defensive action is being taken is in the process of 
3.18 	removing, or attempting to remove, the individual or another person from the dwelling or 
3.19 	occupied vehicle of the individual or a business owned by the individual.
3.20 	(b) An individual is not entitled to the benefit of the presumption in paragraph (a) if the 
3.21 	individual knows that the person against whom the defensive action is being taken:
3.22 	(1) is a lawful resident of the dwelling or a lawful possessor of the vehicle, or is otherwise 
3.23 	lawfully permitted to enter the dwelling, business, or vehicle; or
3.24 	(2) is a person who has lawful custody of the person being removed from the dwelling, 
3.25 	business, or vehicle or whose removal from the dwelling, business, or vehicle is being 
3.26 	attempted.
3.27 	A person who is prohibited by a court order from contacting another individual or from 
3.28 	entering a dwelling or possessing a vehicle of another individual is not a lawful resident of 
3.29 	that individual's dwelling and is not a lawful possessor of that individual's vehicle.
3.30 	(c) An individual using defensive force is not entitled to the benefit of the presumption 
3.31 	in paragraph (a) if the individual is presently engaged in a crime or attempting to escape 
3.32 	from the scene of a crime, or is presently using the dwelling or occupied vehicle in 
3.33 	furtherance of a crime.
4.1 	(d) An individual is not entitled to the benefit of the presumption in paragraph (a) if the 
4.2 	individual knows or has reason to know that the person against whom the defensive action 
4.3 	is being taken is a licensed peace officer from this state, another state, the United States, or 
4.4 	any subordinate jurisdiction of the United States who is acting lawfully.
4.5 		Subd. 5.Criminal investigation; immunity from prosecution. (a) An individual who 
4.6 	uses force, including deadly force, according to this section or as otherwise provided by 
4.7 	law in defense of the individual, the individual's dwelling, a business owned by the individual, 
4.8 	or another individual is justified in using such force and is immune from any criminal 
4.9 	prosecution for that act.
4.10 	(b) A law enforcement agency may arrest an individual using force under circumstances 
4.11 	described in this section only after considering any claims or circumstances supporting 
4.12 	self-defense or lawful defense of another individual.
4.13 		Subd. 6.Justifiable use of force; burden of proof. In a criminal trial, when there is 
4.14 	any evidence of justifiable use of force under this section or section 609.06, the state has 
4.15 	the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's actions were not 
4.16 	justifiable.
4.17 		Subd. 7.Short title. This section may be cited as the "Defense of Dwelling, Business, 
4.18 	and Person Act of 2021."

4.19 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2021, and applies to uses of 
4.20 	deadly force occurring on or after that date.