Debate about gun control and the George Zimmerman verdict have drawn renewed attention to the Stand Your Ground laws around the country. These laws
(also known as Castle Doctrine laws) allow people to use force to defend themselves without having to retreat.
President Obama acknowledged that this law was not used in the George Zimmerman defense. He said: “I know that there been commentary about the fact
that Stand Your Ground laws in Florida were not used as defense of the case.” But he then asked: “On the other hand, it we’re sending a message as society
in our communities that someone who is armed has a right to use those firearms even if there’s a way for them to exit from the situation, is that really going to
be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see?”
Attorney General Holder was even more critical. He argued that: “It’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow
dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods.” Using a turn of phrase, he said: “It is our collective obligation – we must stand our ground – to ensure that our laws
reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.”
Do these laws make us less safe? The facts appear to be on the other side. John Lott is a professor of economics and author of such books as More Guns,
Less Crime and The Bias Against Guns. He has discovered that in states with Stand Your Ground laws in place between 1977 and 2005, murder rates fell by 9
percent and the overall violent crime rate fell by 11 percent. This occurs, he documents, even after accounting for a range of other factors such as national
crime trends, law enforcement variables, income and poverty measures, and demographic changes.
The president and the attorney general seem to think there is a causal link between these Stand Your Ground laws and gun violence. If there is, then the data
shows that it is an argument for more Stand Your Ground laws not fewer. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.