Is the Stand Your Ground Law A Good Idea?
By: NayNay Butler
Many of us have recently begun hearing a lot of discussion about the Stand Your Ground Law. The case of Trayvon Martin has brought this law to the attention of many of us who did not even realize there was such a law. The definition of the Stand Your Ground Law according to Wikipedia is “That a person may use force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of a threat, without an obligation to retreat first.” In the situation regarding the Trayvon Martin case, Defendant, George Zimmerman, could have possibly used this defense. I am sure that most people have heard conflicting accounts of how seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in a gated community in Sanford, Florida by Defendant, George Zimmerman, on February 26, 2012. There have been several different accounts of what took place that evening, and everyone familiar with this story will definitely have an opinion. The issue that still has a lot of people talking is the fairness of the Stand Your Ground law as a defense, and whether states should take a second look at this law to determine if the law is being used as it was originally written. Senator Durell Peaden of Florida, sponsored this bill and it was passed into law in Florida in 2005. There are several other states that have adopted this law.
STATES WITH STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
Alabama Montana
Arizona Nevada
Colorado New Hampshire
Florida Oklahoma
Georgia Pennsylvania
Indiana Tennessee
Kentucky Texas
Maryland Utah
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was a huge supporter of getting this law passed across the country. The NRA believes that self-defense laws are necessary to protect innocent, law abiding citizens against criminals that try to harm them.
There are many questions concerning this law such as what constitutes a legitimate threat? The law states that all you need is a reasonable belief that you feel threatened. This leaves the door open to people that legally carry a firearm to just perceive a threat, whether that threat is actually real or not, and they can shoot and kill someone. This is what many say is the case regarding Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting. Defendant, George Zimmerman, said he believed he was in danger of being killed by Trayvon Martin which is why he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. What if Trayvon Martin didn’t threaten George Zimmerman? We now have a seventeen year old child dead because of a perception. There will be people that will use this law to shoot people and claim they were standing their ground.
It does stand to reason that there are situations that would warrant the use of this law. For example, if you are walking down the street one night and accosted by someone that pulls a knife out and attempts to rob you. This would be a reasonable example to use your gun and shoot that person because you feared for your life, and it was a kill or be killed situation. Any reasonable person would agree that you had every right to defend yourself. The problem with this law is that there are so many instances that it would be very difficult to prove that you actually believed your life was in danger.
The case of Trayvon Martin is a perfect example of the difficulty to prove you were actually standing your ground. In the Trayvon Martin case, George Zimmerman had to prove that he felt he had no choice but to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin. The evidence presented during the trial showed scars on George Zimmerman's head allegedly caused by Trayvon Martin banging Mr. Zimmerman's head against the concrete. There were witnesses that testified that Trayvon Martin was on top of Zimmerman punching him. In the end the jury believed George Zimmerman's version of the event and found him not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman felt his life was being threatened so he had a right to stand his ground and shoot Trayvon Martin in the heart. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this verdict especially when it has been reported that Mr. Zimmerman was following Trayvon Martin, when he was instructed by law enforcement to stay in his vehicle, which leads many to believe that there is a strong possibility that Trayvon Martin would still be alive today had Mr. Zimmerman listened to law enforcement. Many believe that George Zimmerman was the aggressor, but George Zimmerman was able to prove that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor, and therefore made the case for standing his ground. The Stand Your Ground law should definitely be re-evaluated and possibly written in a way that doesn’t allow for innocent people to be killed on someone’s perception of a threat.
The Stand Your Ground law will certainly be a topic for discussion in the future. The Trayvon Martin case has brought this issue to the forefront. People would be wise to do their research on this law, and keep abreast of developments regarding this law in your home state.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-your-ground_law
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/04/18/does-your-state-have-stand-your-ground-law
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57401619-504083/author-of-stand-your-ground-law-george-zimmerman-should-probably-be-arrested-for-killing-trayvon-martin/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/02/nra-stand-your-ground-law?newsfeed=true
STATES WITH STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
Alabama Montana
Arizona Nevada
Colorado New Hampshire
Florida Oklahoma
Georgia Pennsylvania
Indiana Tennessee
Kentucky Texas
Maryland Utah
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was a huge supporter of getting this law passed across the country. The NRA believes that self-defense laws are necessary to protect innocent, law abiding citizens against criminals that try to harm them.
There are many questions concerning this law such as what constitutes a legitimate threat? The law states that all you need is a reasonable belief that you feel threatened. This leaves the door open to people that legally carry a firearm to just perceive a threat, whether that threat is actually real or not, and they can shoot and kill someone. This is what many say is the case regarding Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting. Defendant, George Zimmerman, said he believed he was in danger of being killed by Trayvon Martin which is why he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. What if Trayvon Martin didn’t threaten George Zimmerman? We now have a seventeen year old child dead because of a perception. There will be people that will use this law to shoot people and claim they were standing their ground.
It does stand to reason that there are situations that would warrant the use of this law. For example, if you are walking down the street one night and accosted by someone that pulls a knife out and attempts to rob you. This would be a reasonable example to use your gun and shoot that person because you feared for your life, and it was a kill or be killed situation. Any reasonable person would agree that you had every right to defend yourself. The problem with this law is that there are so many instances that it would be very difficult to prove that you actually believed your life was in danger.
The case of Trayvon Martin is a perfect example of the difficulty to prove you were actually standing your ground. In the Trayvon Martin case, George Zimmerman had to prove that he felt he had no choice but to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin. The evidence presented during the trial showed scars on George Zimmerman's head allegedly caused by Trayvon Martin banging Mr. Zimmerman's head against the concrete. There were witnesses that testified that Trayvon Martin was on top of Zimmerman punching him. In the end the jury believed George Zimmerman's version of the event and found him not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman felt his life was being threatened so he had a right to stand his ground and shoot Trayvon Martin in the heart. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this verdict especially when it has been reported that Mr. Zimmerman was following Trayvon Martin, when he was instructed by law enforcement to stay in his vehicle, which leads many to believe that there is a strong possibility that Trayvon Martin would still be alive today had Mr. Zimmerman listened to law enforcement. Many believe that George Zimmerman was the aggressor, but George Zimmerman was able to prove that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor, and therefore made the case for standing his ground. The Stand Your Ground law should definitely be re-evaluated and possibly written in a way that doesn’t allow for innocent people to be killed on someone’s perception of a threat.
The Stand Your Ground law will certainly be a topic for discussion in the future. The Trayvon Martin case has brought this issue to the forefront. People would be wise to do their research on this law, and keep abreast of developments regarding this law in your home state.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-your-ground_law
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/04/18/does-your-state-have-stand-your-ground-law
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57401619-504083/author-of-stand-your-ground-law-george-zimmerman-should-probably-be-arrested-for-killing-trayvon-martin/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/02/nra-stand-your-ground-law?newsfeed=true
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