Bill > AB2584

This bill, known as the Preemptive Self Defense Act of 2026, clarifies and expands the legal framework for self-defense in California. It amends existing laws to state that a person who reasonably believes they are facing an imminent threat of bodily harm can use lawful resistance to prevent a public offense, which is any act that violates public law. The bill specifies that this resistance must be proportional to the perceived threat and should stop once the threat is no longer present. Importantly, it prohibits considering a person's background, training, or professional fighting skills when determining if their defensive actions were reasonable. Furthermore, the bill establishes that individuals who lawfully resist a public offense, as defined by the law, will not face civil liability, meaning they cannot be sued for damages, provided they were not the primary aggressor and their force was proportional to the threat. The bill also defines "imminent threat of bodily harm" to include actions that reasonably suggest an immediate physical attack is about to occur, and clarifies that a person does not have to wait for an attack to begin before taking reasonable defensive action.

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https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2584