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A new bill at the Legislature would make it clear that Utahns are legally allowed to defend themselves if attacked.
And in a trial setting, attorneys would be prohibited from implying that a victim should have run away from their attacker.
"If they're standing their ground in a self-defense way to protect themselves or someone else, they have no duty to retreat," said Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, the bill's sponsor.
Bill language for HB259 was released Wednesday. It states that a person is not expected to run away from someone threatening force, "even if safety could be achieved by retreating."
"I think it's pretty straightforward," Maloy said. "They have no duty to retreat to protect themselves."
The proposed law is similar to the one in Florida highlighted in the 2012 shooting death of Treyvon Martin, a black teenager returning to his home from the store, by George Zimmerman. The incident sparked protests nationwide and eventually Zimmerman was charged, but acquitted, of murder.
Maloy said his bill clarifies and "enhances" current Utah law, which allows a person to self-defend against an attacker but does not specify that a person need not retreat if safety can be reached and does not restrict trial questioning.
He said the idea for the bill came from discussions on Second Amendment issues with other lawmakers.
"This was one of the topics that we had discussed and I felt strongly about it and so I took this one on," Maloy said.
Twitter: @bjaminwood