Just a short diary since so much has already been posted about this matter. Robert Nolin, Kathleen Haughney and Dana Williams of the south Florida paper Sun Sentinel have reviewed the effects Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law in a short article that I recommend it highly to those who have not seen this information. It may be found at (http://www.wptv.com/...)
One of the findings from the Sun Sentinel investigation is that there were 388 cases of justifiable homicide from 2007 through 2010 where there had only been 237 cases of justifiable homicide during the previous seven years. They emphasize that about 60% of the 388 cases involved shootings by police who do not come under the SYG law. But this still means that there 155 justifiable homicides by civilians in four years. To some here in the Sunshine State this seems to be a good thing as I heard an interview with a state senator in which he said something to the effect that the increase in justifiable homicides meant that SYG is working well. I’m sure that he is also encouraged by the fact that new concealed weapons permits tripled from 2006 through 2010.
The Sun Sentinel article also presented some interesting data regarding who killed who in justifiable homicide cases since 2006. Blacks killing blacks accounted for 38% of the cases and whites killing whites accounted for 34%. Sixteen percent of the cases involved whites killing blacks and only 4% of cases involved blacks killing whites.
I don’t know whether or not the information presented in the Sun Sentinel article will convince many people that the Florida SYG law is responsible for increased death by guns in the State, but it should cause any rational person to stop and think. (Oops – there I go again being the eternal optimist regarding the belief that advocacy for greater freedom to hold and bear arms is linked to rationality.) It may be that SYG laws by themselves don’t contribute to increased numbers of gun deaths. A quote from the Sun Sentinel article may best explain it.
"It may simply be when you have a much better armed public, they're much more likely to shoot each other or get shot by police," said Dennis Jay Kenney, criminology professor for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York