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Saturday, October 22nd, 2022

‘Stand your ground’ laws linked to increased homicide rates, study finds

Author:     Kaanita Iyer
Source:     CNN
Publication Date:     February 24, 2022 | 0026 GMT
Link: ‘Stand your ground’ laws linked to increased homicide rates, study finds
Stephan:   Every day I listen to Republicans make crime a major factor in the election. What you almost never hear is that in Red states crime rates have gone up the most, particularly crimes involving guns.
Florida was the first state to enact a “stand your ground” law in 2005, and at least 27 others have similar laws, according to the National Conference of States Legislatures. As a result in those states homicide rates have gone up. Credit: CNN

Amid a nationwide rise in homicides, a new study has found that “stand your ground” laws — which allow people to respond to threats with potentially lethal force without fear of criminal prosecution — are linked to increased homicide rates, amounting to hundreds of additional deaths per year.

States saw an average increase of 8-10% in monthly homicides between 1999 and 2017 after the enactment of such laws, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal.

“Stand your ground” laws garnered national attention in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012. George Zimmerman shot Martin but was acquitted on second-degree murder charges in part because he claimed self-defense under Florida’s law. Saturday marks 10 years since Martin’s death.

“There is consistent […]

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