In Tennessee, you can’t kill to protect property. Lawmakers may allow wider use of deadly force

In Tennessee, residents are allowed to protect against theft or trespassing on their property through use of force, as long as it’s not fatal.

Deadly force is only permitted in the case of self-defense, given “a reasonable belief that there is an imminent danger of death, serious bodily injury or grave sexual abuse.” But a new bill, which is set to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, would allow for wider use of deadly force, expanding the scope to include property crime.

“It basically says that if deadly force is your last and only option to protect your private property, you can use it,” Rep. Kip Capley, the bill’s sponsor, said during a subcommittee hearing last month.

Deadly force is defined in the Tennessee state code as “the use of force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.” The bill says it would be allowed in cases of preventing “actual or attempted” trespass, arson, damage to property, including damage to livestock, burglary, theft, robbery or aggravated cruelty to animals.

There are restrictions — the bill says that deadly force is not justified if the trespasser is facing away, or if there are other methods to protect the property.

“You have to reasonably believe that you can’t protect your property otherwise,” Capley said. “So it’s, you know, we’re not shooting the pizza man.”

But many people are concerned.

Stephen Crump, the executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, testified against the bill. He said district attorneys were concerned about its breadth.

“Somebody stepping into your ditch or stepping into your yard, somebody turning around in your driveway would authorize the use of deadly force,” Crump said. “We think that is a significant departure from what we have previously used self-defense for and believe that this is, again, very problematic.”

Housing and homelessness advocates have also expressed their apprehension.

“When we think about trespassing or the issues that happen with that, our unhoused friends are squarely in the middle of those types of bills,” said Tracy Beard, the coalition coordinator for Housing for All TN. “So what you’re going to see with a bill like that being passed is a huge potential for life being lost, unnecessarily.”

Tennessee last updated the deadly force law in 2021, when it made it easier for people who had acted in self-defense to prove they were immune from lawsuits.