Stand Your Ground. What in the hell is that? Really I have got to know. Is it a law made so one can legally protect themselves from being harmed or murdered or is a law that people can hide behind to justify murder. 27 States have Stand Your Ground laws. Does Stand Your Ground laws make us safer? In my research I have seen a lot of not enough evidence, to a lot of no’s. I have seen very few yes’ supported by actual numbers. I spent a lot of time looking and reading about the problems with guns and a lot of the arguments just don’t hold water. I am a gun holder and I have a Conceal and Carry License for the State of Florida even though you will no longer need a license to Conceal and Carry in the State. Even though I am licensed I do not carry my gun when I go anywhere. You can say that I am a hypocrite because I am a gun owner. I don’t think I am. I am not an advocate of taking away peoples guns. I do feel that I have the right to protect my home. I feel that everyone has a right to protect their home. What I want is those guns off our streets. Guns on the streets are making everybody unsafe. Everybody, including the gun holder and especially the police.

I am getting a little sidetrack here so let’s get back to Stand Your Ground. This first time I paid any attention to the “Stand Your Ground” law was when Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Martin was just a kid wearing a hooded sweatshirt walking home from the store after buying something to drink and some Skittles. Now, he was where he was supposed to be and just walking home. George Zimmerman who was part of the neighborhood watch saw Trayvon walking home and thought he looked suspicious so he called the police. As I understand it the police told him that they would send someone out to handle it. Instead of waiting for the police, like he was told, he began stalking Trayvon. Now Trayvon was just walking home and not doing anything wrong. When he noticed that he was being stalked he confronted his stalker George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin Stood His Ground and a struggle occurred and Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. George Zimmerman was arrested and tried and his defense was the “Stand Your Ground” law. I was appalled by the verdict of not quilty because the one that was being stalked was Trayvon Martin and the one that was Standing His Ground was Trayvon Martin yet he was the one that was dead. George Zimmerman was free to go after killing a young man that had committed no crime except for being Black and wearing a hooded sweatshirt. We now have another questionable “Stand Your Ground” killing in Florida. A mother AJ Owens was shot and killed by a woman named Susan Lorincz. She was going to complain to about what she believed was abuse of her children. A typical Mother’s reaction. AJ Owens knocked on the door and was shot through the door. She was not armed and the shooter didn’t really know what the mother intended to do. Lorincz of course stated that she feared for her life and that she was defending herself. Florida police did not arrest her right away because of the “Stand Your Ground” in Florida but after some political pressure the shooter has now been charged with manslaughter. I am sure, just like George Zimmer used, she will use the “Stand Your Ground” defense. What I am afraid of is just like George Zimmer she will get away with it.

There are studies that show the effects of “Stand Your Ground” laws. I was reading an article from the University of Oxford in their News and Events section that a new study has shown that the “Stand Your Ground” has contributed to 700 more homicides a year in the United States. The average monthly increase in homicides is 11 percent with the high of 22 percent in some states. The article stated that the impacts vary from state to state but that no state with a “Stand Your Ground” law had a reduction in homicides. The article went on to further state that southern state of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida saw a significant increase in their homicide rates. You can’t deny that these states are more violent. In 2021 the State of Alabama guns killed 1315 people. In New York during the same year guns killed 1078 people. Alabama has a population of around 5 million people; New York has a population of around 20 million people. New York has 4 times more population of Alabama and still has less gun deaths. What is the difference? The gun laws and that includes the “Stand Your Ground” law. Florida in 2020 had a population of 21.5 million people; New York had a Population of 20.2 million people. Florida’s gun deaths in 2020 were 3041; New York gun deaths in 2020 were 1052. Two states where the populations are almost the same for Florida’s gun deaths are almost 3 times higher. It is hard to say that gun laws do not make a difference in the number of deaths.

Stand your Ground laws have just made the Country a little bit more violent in my opinion. As I stated in the beginning, I am a gun owner. I have gone through the Conceal and Carry training and got finger printed, had my picture taken and paid a fee to get licensed in the State of Florida where gun violence is already high. Now you will no longer have go through the training I went through. Now you don’t have to do anything but buy a gun and you can Conceal and Carry in Florida. What could possibly go wrong? I really don’t have to ask that question because you already do know what will go wrong. There are so many shooting now that many don’t even make the news. We are becoming conditioned to the death that guns cause and that is not a good thing. We are just making it easier to kill people in Florida and in much of the United States. Would you want to be a cop here? I sure wouldn’t.