The following letter to the editor was submitted by Peter DiChellis, of Santa Monica, in response to Assembly by 1333 by Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur.
Dear Editor,
Following widespread public backlash, Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur amended and withdrew his bill mandating harsh legal penalties for currently law-abiding Californians if a criminal attacker dies as a result of a victim protecting home, family, or personal safety.
(Zbur’s election district includes Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and West Los Angeles but AB 1333 would apply to crime victims throughout California.)
In my view, amending and withdrawing his criminal-friendly bill hardly redeems Zbur, for three reasons:
First, while Zbur’s amended version removed one of the main objections to the bill, that it criminalized a victim for protecting home and family during a home invasion, Zbur did not amend another major complaint: the legal requirement for a victim to run away from a criminal attack.
Second, Zbur made patently deceitful claims about AB 1333. For example, despite its initial wording (and subsequent amending), Zbur brazenly asserted AB 1333 was not intended to criminalize self-defense or defense of one’s family or home. Yet law enforcement professionals and both prosecuting and defense attorneys opposed the bill on exactly those grounds.
Additionally, Zbur blamed “misleading information” about AB 1333 for the backlash and subsequent withdrawal. Perhaps I’m cynical, but I doubt those tasked with enforcing as well as prosecuting and defending AB 1333’s legal penalties were somehow misled.
Indeed, both a Southern California prosecutor and a former CHP officer called the bill “dangerous,” while a Northern California law enforcement professional called it “ridiculous.” Meanwhile, a defense attorney derided AB 1333 as merely “the kind of legislation that might sound good in a classroom,” and another attorney wrote it could have “severe consequences for overall public safety.”
Lastly, AB 1333 was far from Zbur’s first effort to coddle criminals. In 2024, he attempted to block a law that increased penalties for child-sex traffickers and also tried to thwart Californians from voting on Proposition 36, which mandates tougher penalties for retail theft and drug abuse.
Now, with AB 1333, Zbur reckons severe criminal penalties against victims are appropriate because the victim should have run away.
Predictably, alongside his inexplicable claim that “misleading information” tanked AB 1333, Zbur also gushed about his own unyielding commitment to public safety.
Unfortunately, however, it seems Zbur’s legislative antics have only demonstrated a commitment to criminal attackers, child-sex traffickers, and drug-abusing shoplifters.
Sincerely,
Peter DiChellis
Santa Monica
Peter DiChellis is a long-time Santa Monica resident and a wary constituent in Zbur’s Assembly District.
Related
- March 13 – AB1333: Zbur Withdraws Bill Limiting Self-Defense
- Feb 25 – California Bill Would Restrict Self-Defense
