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Madison - Homeowners who shoot intruders would receive strong legal protection, under a bill approved by the state Senate on Thursday.

The bill passed in the Senate on a bipartisan 26-7 vote and then was returned to the Assembly. All Republican senators voted for the bill along with nine Democrats, including three from southeastern Wisconsin: Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), and Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie).

The Assembly also passed the proposal on a bipartisan vote Tuesday, but since the Senate tweaked the proposal Thursday, the Assembly will need to approve the change, in a vote that was expected to come late Thursday or early Friday. GOP Gov. Scott Walker has said that he supports the bill in principle but will still review it before deciding whether to sign it.

Under the bill, courts in most criminal and civil matters would presume that property owners using deadly force had acted reasonably against anyone unlawfully inside their residence, business or vehicle, whether the trespasser was armed or not. The proposal is sometimes known as the “castle doctrine,” a reference to the saying that one’s home is one’s castle.

The legislation is one of a slew of bills moving through the Legislature this week as GOP lawmakers advance their agenda ahead of recall efforts expected to start against Walker and state senators later this month.

On Tuesday, Wisconsin became the 49th state in the country to allow people to carry concealed firearms. Republicans said the castle doctrine bill was another step in helping law-abiding residents protect themselves.

“A person has a right to defend themselves and their family in their dwelling,” said Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), a lead sponsor of the legislation and a former police officer. “The fundamental issue is about protecting life, not property.”

But some Democrats said the law was not needed and was being rushed through unnecessarily to please gun rights groups.

“This day in the Senate is truly bought and paid for” by the National Rifle Association, Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said.

A state group representing more than 600 criminal defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges and academics also opposes the castle doctrine bill.

“AB 69 changes Wisconsin law by providing a defense for irrational people armed with deadly force. Under its provisions, malevolent, reckless, or paranoid people who shoot trick-or-treaters or repairmen on their porch will be presumed to be acting in self-defense,” reads a statement issued this week on behalf of the criminal law section of the State Bar of Wisconsin.

The statement comes from a two-page memo sent to lawmakers by Gregory J. O’Meara, an associate professor of law at Marquette University and immediate past chair of the criminal law section.

“At present, no member of the criminal law section of the State Bar, which is made up of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and academics, can come up with a single case wherein a homeowner was charged with a crime for defending himself or herself from a home intruder,” the memo reads.

Some district attorneys like John Chisholm of Milwaukee County and Joe DeCecco of Sheboygan County have said Wisconsin, like most states, doesn’t need a castle doctrine bill because existing law provides more than adequate protection for anyone legitimately acting in self-defense.

Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has said he has not reviewed the particulars of the bill but that he supports the general concept.

Under existing law, a person can’t seek to kill or wound someone unless he or she reasonably believes it’s needed to prevent the same type of injury to himself or herself. Supporters of the bill say that people in their homes or businesses don’t necessarily have the time to check whether an intruder is trying to hurt them.

The proposed immunity under the castle doctrine legislation wouldn’t apply to people who were using their home or other property for crimes such as drug dealing.

It also wouldn’t shield a shooter who attacked someone who he or she knew or should have known was a police officer. The Senate approved on a voice vote Thursday a Democratic amendment to offer that same legal protection to firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

What the hell are they smoking in Madison? Sorry, this is not okay. The memo from the Criminal Law section of the Wisconsin State Bar is spot-on.