Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws
Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws
What is the problem?
Stand Your Ground laws allow people to shoot to kill in public even when they can safely walk away from the danger. These laws threaten public safety by encouraging armed vigilantism. They allow a person to kill another person in a public area even when there are clear and safe ways to retreat from a dangerous situation.
Stand Your Ground laws encourage avoidable escalation of violence, and they do not deter crime. Under traditional self-defense law, a person can use force to defend themselves anywhere. If they’re outside their home, though, they can’t use force that is likely to kill or seriously injure someone if there’s a safe way to avoid it. Stand Your Ground laws allow people to shoot to kill in public even when they can safely walk away from the danger. These laws are associated with increases in homicides and injuries, and disproportionately impact communities of color. Lawmakers should put the safety of their constituents first and repeal dangerous Stand Your Ground laws in their states.
Myth & Fact
Myth
Stand Your Ground laws are necessary to prevent harm.
Fact
In most cases, you can avoid a conflict when one party retreats. For example, in the majority of Florida Stand Your Ground cases, the person who claimed Stand Your Ground could have retreated to avoid the confrontation.