A General Assembly study committee is having a hearing today on what to do about the Indiana Supreme Court's hotly denounced ruling that the state's castle doctrine doesn't apply to police acting in good faith, even if they aren't acting lawfully. A Democratic lawmaker reacts a little hysterically:
Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, is a member of the subcommittee and said Monday he's hopeful that some of the initial fervor about the decision has died down. He wants the group to be cautious about changing the law.
"We really need to weigh the consequences of what do we do here," Lanane said. "Do we pass a statute that says it's OK to fight if the police if you think in good faith they're entering illegally? Then we say we'll figure out the truth later when the gun play has died down."
I don't think too many lawmakers are really considering a law that would give us the green light to have shootouts with police, even when we think they're acting without legal justification. The idea is to be able to "resist" them. There's a whole lot of space between standing in front of the door with your arms crossed and opening fire with your Glock. Granted, though, lawmakers need to be very careful in their legislative language if they try to craft something narrowing the court's ruling.
