‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws May Be Linked to Rise in Gun Homicides

The so-called “stand your ground” laws may be doing more harm than good.

According to a new study, researchers confirmed a notable link between the self-defense statutes and a significant rise in U.S. firearm homicides. The peer-review report, published in the JAMA Network Open on Monday, found states that enacted SYG laws experienced an average increase of 8-10 percent in monthly gun-related deaths between 2000 and 2016; that’s about 58 to 72 more homicides each month.

The report also found that rates of homicide and firearm homicides saw double-digit increases in a number of southern states, including Alabama (33 percent) and Florida (30 percent), which passed SYG laws in 2006 and 2005, respectively.

SYG gained national attention following the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teen who was shot and killed while walking to his Florida home. George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the deadly incident, but was ultimately acquitted after arguing he had acted in self-defense.

The controversial laws allow the use of deadly force when responding to threats of physical violence. SYG proponents say the statues could potentially reduce violent crimes, as it gives people the right to exercise self-defense without fear of prosecution. However, they found no direct link between SYG laws and significant decreases in homicide rates.

“You want to encourage people to walk away before using lethal force, and when you remove that as a requirement … there’s going to be a greater likelihood that people will resort to lethal force,” Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a criminal law professor at University of Dayton, told CNN. “… What these laws are saying now though is, don’t walk away, don’t get police involved, solve it yourself. And I don’t know if you want a society that encourages people to resort to lethal force when they don’t have to.”