Alaska is set to put a “Stand Your Ground” law on the books.
On Thursday night, the Senate passed a bill that would get rid of the duty to retreat if a person feels threatened, so long as that person has a right to be in that place.
About two dozen states have similar self-defense rules. The Alaska legislature considered a comparable bill last year, but the legislation stalled after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teenager. That homicide attracted national attention because the shooter was not initially charged with any crime because of the Stand Your Ground law.
The bill passed 15 to 4, with Anchorage Democrat Bill Wielechowski teaming with Republicans to support the measure. The House approved the measure last month.
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