Legislation to clarify when North Dakotans may shoot intruders without fear of prosecution or lawsuits was quietly approved in the state House, two months after it prompted an uproar about self-defense rights.

The measure says North Dakotans are obliged to try to avoid an armed confrontation if they can do so safely. However, it says the "duty to retreat" does not apply if a person is responding to an intruder in his or her home, workplace or travel trailer.

If an intruder is breaking in, shooting him is considered justified in most circumstances, unless the intruder is a police officer or someone who had a right to be in the dwelling, the legislation says. Police still may challenge whether the shooting was legal if they believe the shooter's fears of harm were unreasonable.

A person who shoots a burglar also is shielded from a civil lawsuit by the burglar or his family, who otherwise may be able to collect money damages for excessive use of force.

Representatives voted 80-13 on Thursday to endorse the bill, accepting a package of changes the Senate made last month. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers had strongly opposed the legislation but the Senate amendments quieted that opposition, said Rep. Duane DeKrey, R-Pettibone.

The bill now goes to Gov. John Hoeven for his review.

When it was first introduced, the legislation was more expansive.

It abolished the "duty to retreat" provision that was already in state law. It said there was no obligation to avoid an armed confrontation "in a place where that individual has a right to be," if the person feared being the victim of a violent felony.

Representatives still approved the bill then, but the Feb. 12 margin was much closer (50-44) and the debate much longer and louder. Critics of the legislation said it encouraged an armed response to trouble, whether or not it was warranted.

Rep. Kenton Onstad, D-Parshall, said then the legislation encouraged an attitude of "shoot first and ask questions later."

DeKrey on Tuesday credited the Senate's changes for the increase in House support for the bill. He was the only legislator to speak about it before the House's vote.

"The Senate … clarified under exactly what conditions you did not have the duty to retreat," DeKrey said.

The bill is HB1319.