'Make my day': stand-your-ground laws mesh with America's gun culture – with lethal consequences. Photograph: Rex Feature/Everett Collection
United States Senator Richard Durbin had intended to hold a Senate judiciary committee hearing on 17 September on "Stand Your Ground Laws: Civil Rights and Public Safety Implications of the Expanded Use of Deadly Force". Sadly, that hearing about gun violence was postponed … because of yet more gun violence.
The day before the hearing, another apparently disturbed person with a gun killed innocent Americans. This time, it occurred at the naval yard in Washington, DC, throwing the Senate office buildings into lockdown.
Welcome to America in 2013, where the culture of violence has taken over – so much so that Senate hearings on gun violence cannot proceed unimpeded by another mass shooting and the resulting senseless deaths of ordinary citizens who merely got up and went to work in the country's capital city.
Senator Durbin's delayed hearing was rescheduled and, barring any further incident, God forbid, will be held starting Tuesday. While stand-your-ground laws are not directly related to the naval yard shootings, they are yet another indicator of how over-the-top our gun culture has become. Not only does the US refuse to mandate universal background checks, but in some states, we empower vigilantes to shoot first. Yes, in stand-your-ground states, the Dirty Harry "make my day" mentality is not only acceptable, but is statute: ordinary citizens are encouraged to take the law into their own hands – with deadly consequences.
It is time to break the culture of violence, and the seeming acceptance of it by our laws. Getting rid of stand-your-ground laws is a good place to start.
Fortunately, my state, Connecticut, is not a stand-your-ground state. Connecticut adheres to the traditional common law
"castle doctrine", which provides that an individual does not have a duty to retreat when in his or her home, or "castle", and may use reasonable force, including deadly force, to defend his or her property, person, or another. In certain circumstances, the law permits one to attack an intruder and use a firearm instead of first retreating. Forty-six states currently follow the castle doctrine.
Despite its basis in the common law, there is a problem with the castle doctrine, in fact – where the law permits a person's "castle" to be converted into mini military fortress. In addition to reviewing stand-your-ground, Congress must also revisit a ban on military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines even inside one's "castle".
Congress must also enact expanded universal background checks and a strong federal trafficking law. These measures are constitutional, would reduce gun violence and, at the same time, allow for self-defense consistent with the
US supreme court's interpretation of the second amendment.
Even though the castle doctrine allows for the use of reasonable force inside one's home, outside, an individual has a duty to retreat, if able to do so,
before using force. Stand-your-ground laws remove the common law requirement to retreat when a person is outside the castle, allowing that person to use deadly force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of a threat. Approximately 20 states have adopted some form of stand-your-ground. Under Florida law:
[A person] has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
I am encouraged that, in the wake of the
Trayvon Martin case, Florida will be revisiting stand-your-ground. I hope it will eventually revert to the traditional castle doctrine.
The combination of expanding open-carry laws, the ease in many states of obtaining an open-carry permit, the proliferation of firearms of all shapes and sizes in our communities, the failure to require universal background checks, and more, all result in a greater risk of gun violence in our communities, where the victims may well be innocent bystanders. In essence, these laws are empowering ordinary citizens to fire their deadly weapons in public places – even though they do not have a fraction of the training that police officers must have in deciding when it is appropriate to shoot first, or how to engage someone with a gun, or even a threat of one.
We have created a society where ordinary citizens can feel and act like Dirty Harry, and get away with it. And we give them immunity even when they are wrong, and when retreating and calling for real trained police officers would be a viable option.
The upshot of stand-your-ground is that we are encouraging gun battles in our streets, in our stores and malls, and on our football and soccer fields. Emboldened citizens with no police training will continue to take matters into their own hands, resulting not only in the deaths of their intended targets or themselves, but also in the deaths or significant injuries of innocent bystanders, including children caught in crossfire.
If we are going to really reverse the trend of gun violence, we have to start by changing the culture. So, let's celebrate champions of peace, love and hope – and eliminate laws that enable armed vigilantes like George Zimmerman. Here, in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, we choose love. Let's enact laws with that message in mind.
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