H.F. No. 3277 - Defense of Dwelling and Person Act of 2022

• Eliminates the common law duty to retreat when a person uses force in self-defense outside their home, allowing individuals to use all force and means including deadly force they reasonably believe necessary.

• Expands the definition of "dwelling" to include overnight stopping accommodations, curtilage, attached decks, porches, motor vehicles, watercraft, motor homes, tents, and other structures temporarily or permanently occupied as a habitation.

• Creates a legal presumption that a person using deadly force has reasonable belief of imminent threat when someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter a dwelling or occupied vehicle by force or stealth, or attempts to remove someone from such locations.

• Grants criminal immunity from prosecution to individuals who use force in lawful self-defense and shifts the burden of proof to the state to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a defendant's use of force was not justifiable in criminal trials.

• Effective August 1, 2022, applying only to uses of deadly force occurring on or after that date.