Do you think the stand your ground law makes it too easy to legally use deadly force?
Guy in a car coming out of taco bell drive thru claims he had the right to shoot an unarmed mentally retarded person in the heart because the mentally retarded person "went beserk", was raising his hands and yelling: "What the hell, you almost hit me" and to "watch where the f*** you're going." after he nearly hit him with his SUV. Apparently, even though he claims he was never scared for his life, it was enough to worry him that this guy might get aggressive and so he pulled out his gun and shot him dead. To date the man hasn't been charged.
I feel like I'm back in the wild, wild west.
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12 Answers to "Do you think the stand your ground law makes it too easy to legally use deadly force?"
Posted by BabzEsq24 May 31st, 2012 at 5:15PM
Nearly every jurissdiction is reconsidering these laws. Many of the incidences when it has been invoked have not been within their intent-
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Posted by Lifeiscalling May 31st, 2012 at 5:56PM
Yes...I think it is a stupid new law that some states have passed. There already is a self-defense law on the books so why say the same thing just in a different way & lets people say that they thought they feared for something being done by a look?
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Posted by maple10 May 31st, 2012 at 5:40PM
No, I agree with the law, the incident you site as you report it is clearly outside the intent of the law, But If I am being attacked by a lunatic wielding a baseball bat I want to have the right to defend myself.
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Reply by BabzEsq24 Jun 1st, 2012 at 4:59AM
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Reply by maple10 Jun 1st, 2012 at 1:36PM
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Posted by bijouxbroussard May 31st, 2012 at 5:22PM
Yes, the way it is interpreted. You can shoot someone while merely "feeling threatened" by them. That makes it too easy for an innocent person to die based on someone else's paranoid perception of what a criminal looks like.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 5:29PM
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Reply by lotus04 May 31st, 2012 at 5:43PM
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Posted by FlowersNButterflies May 31st, 2012 at 5:13PM
I think a public service campaign needs to be started (like the old, "just say no to drugs") campaign. The public needs to know most mentally ill people are NOT violent, and are far, far more likely to be the victims of violence than to perpetrate it. People have the wrong ideas about a lot of things. In Nevada, the law is whatever they want it to be. It is all based on perceptions and whether the authorities like you or not. The LA Times actually did a series on our bizarre legal system, "Juice versus Justice".
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 5:17PM
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Reply by FlowersNButterflies May 31st, 2012 at 5:32PM
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Posted by Govinda1337 May 31st, 2012 at 7:19PM
Probably. Where I live you can shoot someone that tries to break in your domicile.
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Posted by Wolfpeen May 31st, 2012 at 5:50PM
Nope. It protects me in defending myself and what is mine.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 6:23PM
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Reply by Wolfpeen Jun 1st, 2012 at 5:00PM
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Posted by lotus04 May 31st, 2012 at 5:48PM
I think the law seems poorly written. Does make it too easy to shoot someone and say you 'felt threatened" but then again, do you really think there are that many people out there who are going to shoot innocent people based on this law? You do know owning a gun doesn't automatically mean they want to ever shoot anyone right? Most gun owners hope that is the last thing they ever have to do. At the same time, criminals don't deserve any rights when they choose to be violent towards others or break onto someone's personal property. I'd say this guy who shot the mentally ill man is a horrible person who needs his guns taken from him. No one deserves to own a gun if they are not willing to use them responsibly. the majority of gun owners are nothing like that moron so please don't lump us all as trigger happy crazies.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 6:21PM
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Posted by jatpack3 May 31st, 2012 at 5:22PM
I saw that story....it was in Arizona....the man was walking with his dog. The report as I read it on the AP was the man was hostile but clearly unarmed......I do not see a defense here for that......The man in the vehicle could easily left the scene and not confronted the victim. I support stand your ground law as a gun owner because it protects you from a over zealous DA from prosecuting you in cases of clear cut self defense.....there is too many grey areas that have not been addressed. I would think common sense would take care of this but I guess not.....I would never want to take a life and would want to find any alternative to avoid a confrontation that looked like it was coming to deadly force.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 5:32PM
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Posted by cooney55 May 31st, 2012 at 5:15PM
No If you were back in the "wild" west, everybody was presumed to be armed.. there were better manners, no gangs, and actually a lot less crime. Fiction writers have taken many liberties. That said, an armed and scared fool is a dangerous thing.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 5:20PM
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Reply by cooney55 May 31st, 2012 at 5:28PM
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Posted by DozerDan May 31st, 2012 at 5:13PM
The beligerant guy was attacking the driver.
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Reply by ForgottenMuse May 31st, 2012 at 5:14PM
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Posted by ricky21881 May 31st, 2012 at 5:10PM
Definitely.
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