OAN Staff Lillian Mann and Brooke Mallory
6:47 PM – Friday, April 24, 2026
Tennessee lawmakers recently passed HB 1802, a significant piece of legislation that could fundamentally alter the state’s self-defense statutes by expanding the permissible use of force to include the protection of property.
Moving beyond the traditional “life for a life” standard, the bill — which passed the House with a 62-24 vote on April 23rd — would allow individuals to use force, and in specific extreme circumstances, deadly force, to prevent crimes such as theft, arson, trespassing, or the harming of livestock and pets.
According to the bill’s provisions, such force is considered “justified” only when no other reasonable means of protection are available.
A key nuance in the legislation specifies that an individual may use intimidation or force against someone committing trespassing or property damage, provided the person being confronted is not attempting to flee (i.e., their back is not turned).
If signed into law by Governor Bill Lee (R-Tenn.), this measure would represent a major shift in Tennessee’s legal landscape regarding property rights and personal liability. The bill is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature, and if approved, will go into effect as specified in the legislative timeline.
“At its core, it asks a simple question: ‘Do we trust law-abiding citizens or do we side with the criminals that prey upon them?’ Because right now, under current law, if someone is breaking into your property, if they’re stealing from you, if they’re destroying what you’ve worked your entire life to build, you’re expected to wait,” argued Representative Kip Capley (R-Tenn.) who is one of the sponsors of the bill.
“You’re expected to hesitate. You’re expected to second-guess and take a calculated look at defending what’s yours. HB 1802 simply says, ‘If someone is destroying your property, that you can use lethal force to protect it,” he continued.
Opponents of the bill, however, argue that it could open the door to some dangerous consequences.
“The reason we were taught you don’t kill people over property is because they’re not putting at risk an innocent human life,” countered Representative Justin Pearson (D-Tenn.). “What this legislation seems to be doing is lowering that threshold significantly and substantially, and the department is going to have to re-teach in future classes of people who go get their permit, or their lifetime permits, like my wife and I have done, is that you can now kill people over property. And I don’t think that is right,” he added.
Additionally, even some Republicans have expressed their own concerns. Representative Greg Martin (R-Tenn.) told lawmakers on the House floor that he was worried that the bill could justify an individual shooting an elderly person with dementia who had unknowingly wandered into the wrong place.
“The Good Book says that it’s an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, and what that really is given to humanity for is to restrain us from going after someone in a greater way than they have harmed us,” Martin said.
“My concern is, Representative Capley, what I’m hearing you say is that if someone is stealing from you — not harming you in the sense that they’re going to kill you — but if they’re stealing from you or your property or maybe they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, then you could do something more than an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth,” Martin stressed.
Capley, on the other hand, argued that individuals should be able to defend themselves with force if a criminal came on their property.
“[If someone] was burning down your barn and you’ve only got insurance on $250,000 worth of equipment, but I’ve spent 20 years of my life building $5 million worth of whatever, if I don’t stop him and I shoot him right now, then it’s going to be on me,” Capley said.
“It’s going to be on my family. I’m going to have to defend myself because a criminal came on my property and burned down my stuff. That’s not right.”
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