CHEYENNE - A bill that may be considered by lawmakers would spell out that residents have a legal right to assume that intruders intend to do them violence, the measure's main sponsor says.

Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, R-Thermopolis, wants to change state law to specify that homeowners couldn't be prosecuted or sued in civil court if they kill anyone who enters their home illegally.

She said she's not aware of any case in Wyoming in which a homeowner killed a criminal intruder and was then prosecuted for it. But she said she believes it's important to clarify the law nonetheless.

"To me, as an ordinary citizen out there on the street, it's important that this be in state statute, so that the average ordinary citizen like myself can go to state statute and see what I can and cannot do," Quarberg said.

Sen. Kit Jennings, R-Casper, is a co-sponsor. "I don't want anybody in my house that shouldn't be there," he said Thursday. "If they're going to come in my house, and steal from me, or hurt my family, I want the right to defend myself."

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association in Fairfax, Va., said Thursday that his group is dedicated to enacting "castle doctrine" legislation in every state.

"The only people who have anything to fear from this type of law, are people who are intend on robbing people, and murdering people," LaPierre said.

"It puts the law on the side of the victim, it empowers the victim on the most terrifying moment of their lives," LaPierre said. "It empowers the victim, knowing that the law is on their side."

And LaPierre said the NRA also is concerned about heading off what it sees as international gun control efforts headed up by the United Nations.

"It's all set against the backdrop of what's been going on," he said. "And I know it sounds amazing to some people in the country who haven't been following it."

Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C., said that his group sees "castle doctrine" laws as "a dangerous solution in search of a problem."

Hamm said his group has pressed the NRA for the past few years to identify anyone who's now in jail who acted in legitimate self defense. "They still haven't named that person," he said.

"Our existing legal structure in this country has been able to determine whether somebody acted in appropriate self defense or not for 200 years," Hamm said. "To pass laws that arbitrarily expand the ability of human beings to kill other human beings is an inherently bad idea."

Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen, president of the Wyoming Prosecutors Association, said past Wyoming court decisions already make it clear that homeowners have the right to defend themselves against criminal attack. He said that no homeowners have been prosecuted for doing so and warned that tinkering with the law unnecessarily could have unintended consequences.

Blonigen said the Wyoming Prosecutors Association hasn't taken a position on the bill and said some individual members have supported similar proposals in the past. But he said he personally regards the bill as unnecessary.

"This is what I call pushpin legislation, where people want to put a colored pin in a map when they pass a law in a state," Blonigen said.