Georgia's Republican-led Senate on Friday approved legislation broadening "stand your ground" self-defense protections.
The proposal is one that some Democrats said could help protect defendants such as those who murdered Ahmaud Arbery.
The Senate approved Senate Bill 572 in a 30-23 vote along party lines.
The bill would allow defendants to claim immunity from prosecution at arraignment or through a pretrial motion. Cases involving self-defense claims could proceed only if prosecutors overcome that claim with clear and convincing evidence.
The measure would also create a rebuttable presumption that a person who uses force in self-defense acted reasonably and extend civil immunity in justified use-of-force cases to legal representatives and heirs of the person against whom force was used.
State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, said the bill is needed to ensure those accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"Those that murdered Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Strickland said, according to WABE-FM in Atlanta. "Even though they tried to raise this defense, the jury still said they were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in 2020 while jogging through a neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia.
A federal jury later found that three white men — Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and their neighbor William Bryan — were motivated by racism when they chased Arbery through their neighborhood, after he was suspected of trespassing on a property.
All three were convicted in state court of felony murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment, among other counts, and later convicted on federal hate-crime charges. All three received life sentences.
Democrats opposing the bill said it would further empower defendants accused in shootings.
"If this bill had been law, it would have made it very difficult to prosecute those who are the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery," said state Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, according to WABE.
The bill now moves to the state House, which is also controlled by Republicans.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.