The “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law in Florida was always a bad idea. Florida, under Republican leadership, can always take a bad idea and make it worse, as they’ve already been trying to do over the past few years. A new study looking at the law and its relationship to homicide and homicide by firearm rates in Florida gives more credence to what we all knew was going to be true.
Findings This study used an interrupted time series design to analyze changes in rates of homicide and firearm-related homicide. We found that the implementation of Florida’s stand your ground law was associated with a 24.4% increase in homicide and a 31.6% increase in firearm-related homicide.
Meaning The removal of restrictions on when and where individuals can use lethal force was associated with a significant increase in homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida.
Suicide rates did not go up which adds to the argument that laws might actually have an effect on guns and their purpose of shooting people.