AN ACT CREATING A STAND-YOUR-GROUND LAW.

SB 518 amends Connecticut's self-defense law to establish a "stand-your-ground" policy, allowing individuals to use force without retreating when facing a perceived threat. The bill requires that anyone using this defense must legally be at the location and not be engaged in unlawful activity at the time. It directly affects people who claim self-defense in criminal cases, shifting the legal standard from needing to retreat to justifying force based on reasonable belief of threat. The key change removes the prior duty to retreat before using force, but only applies under the specified conditions.