Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law

Self-defense law won't stir trigger-mania - OrlandoSentinel.com: It is surprising to see this in a mainstream paper, and little surprising - to me anyway - to see it in the Orlando Sentinel. The referenced article is a solid piece of calm reason confronting the hysteria of the Brady Bunch over yesterday's start of the new Castle Doctrine and the so-called "stand your ground" law.

It allows people who reasonably fear for their safety to defend themselves rather than first try to avoid the confrontation by retreating.

Of course, reasonably is one of those disturbingly ambiguous terms.

Actually - though I am no lawyer - I thought "reasonable" was one of those standard legal phrases. (For example, prior to enacting its own Concealed Carry Law, the state of Ohio had what is called the "reasonable man" clause. That is it was legal for anyone to carry a concealed weapon so long as "a reasonable man" would have assumed that you would face danger in the locale.)

But this law won't really change anyone’s actions - except the trial lawyers. The really big thing with this law is the shield from civil law suits. (If you attack me and I shoot you, neither you nor your survivors can sue me - it was your own damn fault for attacking me in the first place.)

Similar dire predictions were made in 1987 when Florida enacted its Concealed Carry law.

Since 1987, Florida has issued more than 1 million concealed-weapons permits. Fewer than 200 have been revoked because the licensee used a gun in a crime.

In 1996, felons used firearms in 37,533 Florida crimes. Last year that number dropped to 25,771. That reduction is even more remarkable when you consider the state's booming population.

The predictions now will be just as wrong, and the Brady Bunch and other gun-grabbers will ignore the lessons of reality the same as they do now.

People will retreat if they can, but they no longer have to put themselves in jeopardy to retreat unconditionally.