Florida Stand Your Ground Law

[cranston36]

Florida's "stand your ground" law took effect recently. It says citizens are not obligated to retreat from attack if they're somewhere they have a legal right to be like a public street.

Killers get immunity from prosecution as long as they don

[Captain Obvious]

^ Your analysis, while very well meaning, is a gross distortion. Many media outlets are failing to properly report the true implications of this law, instead opting for a shamelss sensationalist tactic. Basically, Cranston, I'm saying that unfortunately you've been lied to by people more concerned with their own political agenda than property explaining the law. The comments by the Brady group are absurd, because the law only deals will your right to respond to DEADLY FORCE. In other words, this law only gives someone a defense if the person they killed had been actively trying to KILL THEM. So, in my opinion, the Brady group sounds like complete fools.

Here's the real situation...

- In most states, if someone assaults you with deadly force (i.e. if someone is trying to kill you) you are not allowed to defend yourself with deadly force, without trying to run away first. So if you kill someone in self defense, you can lose the affirmative defense of "self defense" if you had the option of escape. Therefore, you can still be charged with murder, for defending yourself from deadly force, if you didn't take the reasonable option of escape.

- The notable exception is if you are at home. If someone trys to kill you in your own home, you are not required to run away. You can defend yourself with deadly force. This is how it works in most (all?) states.

- All Florida's law does is expand the "home" exception. So, if someone is trying to kill you anywhere, you can try to kill them back, and not be guilty of murder. And remember, they have to be trying to kill you ... not insult you, not assault you, not threaten you, not hurt you ... kill you.

- Furthermore, this in an affirmative defense, therefore the burden of proof is actually on the defendent. So if you kill someone in self-defense, it's your obligation to prove it. So you can't just kill someone, and claim self defense. You would have to show the court, by a prepoderence of the evidence, that they had actually been trying to murder you.

So, I'm actually interested in some feedback from everyone. Obviously, the law sounds stupid and unreasonable if all you know about it is what the Brady group told you. But given the extra explaination I gave ... do you still find the law unreasonable?

[Florida]

I'm not a supporter of this law. I don't own a gun, and never plan to. I think laws like this discourage neighbors from introducing themselves to one another. Just my opinion, I think there was another way to address everyone's safety concerns.

[luca]

I'm not a supporter of this law. I don't own a gun, and never plan to. I think laws like this discourage neighbors from introducing themselves to one another. Just my opinion, I think there was another way to address everyone's safety concerns.

what? on the assumption that, from now on, in Florida if you ring your neighbor's doorbell he'll just shoot you? Give..me..a...break....

I think Captain Obvious explained it perfectly clearly. This law applies to situations where someone is faced with a deadly attack. NOT to neighbors introducing themselves.

[Florida]

Surely I wasn't serious... My reason for saying that was to note that a person can perceive just about anything as a threat and pull a gun.

[RiversideGator]

Taurean: The standard is objective, not subjective. This means that a "reasonable man" must feel that he is faced with an imminent threat of serious bodily harm before he can employ deadly force. So, we are not talking about allowing some touchy and/or crazy guy to shoot his neighbor because the neighbor is knocking on his door. This would still be murder or manslaughter. The action must be justified by the circumstances.

[Gusterfell]

If you feel your life is being threatened and you have a reasonable chance of escape, shouldn't you be required to take that option rather than opting for deadly force? Killing someone, even in self defense, should be the last resort, not the first. All this law will do is decrease the likelihood of such situations being resolved peacefully.

Furthermore, even if the standard is objective, what average citizen is going to take the time to carefully analyse the legal justifications when they feel they are in imminent danger? It happens quite often that police shoot innocent people because they mistakenly felt threatened. If police, who are extensively trained to handle such situations, can make such mistakes, what is to stop the average citizen from doing so?

[Florida]

Well said Gusterfell.

[rusthebuss]

I think its a good law and gives the right for you to defend yourself whereas before you defended yourself and went to jail for it. Too many people out there don't care and will pop your @ss is a heart beat and won't think twice about and half the time get off. Its time to give the right back to the law abiding citizen. I wish they would pass this in Va.! Good job Florida

[rusthebuss]

If you feel your life is being threatened and you have a reasonable chance of escape, shouldn't you be required to take that option rather than opting for deadly force? Killing someone, even in self defense, should be the last resort, not the first. All this law will do is decrease the likelihood of such situations being resolved peacefully.

Furthermore, even if the standard is objective, what average citizen is going to take the time to carefully analyse the legal justifications when they feel they are in imminent danger? It happens quite often that police shoot innocent people because they mistakenly felt threatened. If police, who are extensively trained to handle such situations, can make such mistakes, what is to stop the average citizen from doing so?

But people aren't coming up on cops but they are coming up to you and starting crap and most of the time trying to kill you. Criminals have more rights than the law abiding citizen and its time to give back to the rights to the people that care about doing the right things.

[Snowguy716]

Rustthebuss,

How many times has someone started crap with you and pulled a gun on you? I think the fears here are irrational.

I think it's a bad law. It's just as much a right to defend yourself as much as it is a right to kill someone else for pulling a gun on you. It's justified murder. How can you really prove that someone had pulled a gun on you if he or she is dead at the crime scene when the cops show up? I see only problems coming from this law not only from a moral standpoint, but also from a legal one.

[jim09091]

How many times has someone started crap with you and pulled a gun on you? I think the fears here are irrational.

Trust me, it happens. I live in one of the bigger, "safer" cities (Boston) and even though chances are small it does happen. And I'm not the only one.

I think it is a great law and I support it. I do not think it is fair that if someone (known or unknown at the time) attempts to kill my family or me that I cannot defend myself. And remember, guns are not the only weapons out there. Knives are prevelant as is someone beating another individual to death.