Bad news for states with Stand Your Ground laws on the books. Apparently many people who think they are standing their ground have led to an increase in unjustified homicides (See video report above) but don't reduce violent crime (See Miami New Times: "Stand Your Ground" Laws Increase Homicides, Don't Deter Crime, Study Says.)
Other news: Florida's Stand Your Ground Defense More Likely To Succeed If Victim Is Black: Study
We got desperate for some info right about the time that the Texas A&M report was first hitting news sites and used a page from the CDC to find out if gun shot deaths in Florida had increased since the Stand Your Ground law took effect. And, in fact, they did, though before that they seemed to be on the decline. The chart we used only counted gunshot deaths of any kind and could indicate accidents, homicides, or SYG justified deaths. We saw a decrease in gun shot deaths through 2005. SYG went into effect October 1, 2005 or the first day of the last quarter of the year. Starting in 2006 we see an immediate increase in gunshot deaths per 100,000 people in a state that had seen decreases for years. See post at our other blog: 1999-2007 Florida Firearm Death and Rates per 100,000 people.
This new info shows that Stand Your Ground endangers citizens of states that have the law on their books, and don't deter violent crime.
Many people believe the laws were written to improve gun sales for dealers. Another cynical ploy from the right for campaign funds. Why am I not surprised?
States with SYG laws (from Wikipedia)
- 2.1 Arizona
- 2.2 Florida
- 2.3 Illinois
- 2.4 Kentucky
- 2.5 Montana
- 2.6 North Carolina
- 2.7 Oklahoma
- 2.8 Texas
- 2.9 Utah
- 2.10 Washington
- 2.11 West Virginia
