What happened in Sanford, Fla., with the Trayvon Martin shooting is a tragedy. Our prayers go out to the families of those involved. However, the Florida incident has no bearing on any “stand your ground” laws in Georgia or 23 other states.
Misguided individuals maintain Georgia’s “stand your ground” laws are a license to kill. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The laws state that if a person is threatened with force, including deadly force, that person has the right to defend his life and the lives of others without first attempting to flee, cower in fear or beg for his life.
This law places the criminality of the act squarely where it belongs, on the aggressor, not his victim. This statute grants immunity from criminal and civil prosecution, a much-needed provision.
In many states, if one is approached outside one’s home or vehicle, one has the duty to retreat from his attacker. This places law on the side of the criminal. The victim is left to defend his actions in court. The victim, in states with duty to retreat laws, has the choice of cowering, running or begging for his life, leaving the criminal free to perpetrate acts upon his victim. If the victim defends himself using deadly force, he can be held criminally responsible for saving his life or those of his family. The consequences can include being charged with murder and facing prison terms.
Georgia’s “stand your ground” law (SB396), passed in 2006, codified what has been historically practiced law in Georgia. No duty to retreat was the lawful practice before Georgia was a colony and should remain so.
John Monroe, a Roswell attorney and vice president of GeorgiaCarry.Org, points to the 1898 Supreme Court case of Glover v. State, 105 Ga. 597. It held that a person who is not at fault in initiating violence “may, without retreating, take human life” if he is acting to keep a felony from being committed upon him. However, a person who is at fault in initiating the violence must retreat. “One who is himself to blame, however, has not the same right of standing his ground. . .”
The application of all laws affects only law-abiding residents. Criminals prove time and again their disdain for the law. “Stand your ground” laws provide those who take seriously the responsibility to protect themselves and their families an avenue to do just that.
We are told that nothing we have is worth our lives, and to give a criminal what he wants and thus live another day. Yet many victims are killed or seriously wounded by a thug who does not want to be recognized in a police lineup, even though the victim thoroughly complied with his demands.
“Stand your ground” laws empower would-be victims to protect themselves, their family and friends without hesitation or fear of prosecution.
Jerry Henry is executive director of GeorgiaCarry.Org.
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