When Florida first enacted
the “Stand Your Ground” law in 2005, it was met with great controversy, and for
good reason. Nearly a decade later, the law seems to have caused more harm than
good, and is constantly being scrutinized for the ways in which it deeply complicates
a person’s right to self defense.
In the United States, Stand Your Ground law states that a person may use legally protected force in self-defense
without an obligation to retreat first. Florida statute 776.013(3) says:
“A person who is not engaged
in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she
has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her
ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she
reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily
harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a
forcible felony.”
One of the most controversial
facets of Stand Your Ground is where it intersects with ever-changing gun
ownership policies; using a gun to defend oneself, even if it means killing an
attacker, is legally protected under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Because of
this, defendants have an easier time claiming self-defense under Stand Your
Ground in court, and criminals haven’t been prosecuted fully. Stand Your Ground
has also created racial, political, and gender divides, within the American
public because of the way it allows minority groups to essentially become
targets under this legally protected license to kill.
Legal analyst and former
federal prosecutor Kendall Coffey, who has been outspoken about Stand
Your Ground since it was first introduced, is decidedly skeptical. “What this law needs to get back to is self
defense where it is reasonably necessary and where someone has the burden of
avoiding killing someone if they possibly can,” citing cases
that involve drug dealers invoking Stand Your Ground in fatal shootouts, and
even mentioning how the controversial trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin
relied heavily on Stand Your Ground.
In the controversy that
surrounds Stand Your Ground, no one is disputing the importance of having some
kind of legal self-defense measure in place. However, when the lines between
self-defense and homicide become blurred, it’s important that legal analysts
and policymakers take notice. Read more about some of the controversial cases
in which Stand Your Ground has been successfully invoked by visiting ThinkProgress.
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