THE REALITY OF "STAND YOUR GROUND" LAW: FLORIDA ISN'T ALONE, 31 STATES HAVE IT

So with all the talk about "stand your ground" laws being so bad I thought I'd find out more. First off, for those who seem not to be aware, the "stand your ground" law had nothing to do with the Zimmerman/Martin case. I know, the people that keep acting as if the jury never delivered a verdict continue to try and connect the two, including President Obama, but it was never a part of this trial just as racial prejudice wasn't a part of it.

So in looking I found out that the "stand your ground law" basically states that it gives you the right to defend yourself without a requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation. Note that it doesn't say attack but it does say defend. Again, this was not a part of the Zimmerman/Martin trial so always keep that in mind. Had it affected crime rates since it was imposed?

It depends on which source you look at. Almost all places I looked said it did lower crime rates. One site claimed that it increased the homicide rate but they didn't mention that the FBI crime statistics included justifiable homicides, never separating the two types of homicides. So this law could have been implemented in an attack resulting in a justifiable homicide. Something to consider is that if this law does have an effect of lowering crime then why is it people want to see it repealed?

What was really interesting to me was the number of states that have "stand your ground" laws.  I keep hearing all the protestors and trouble stirrers saying they need to boycott Florida because they have the "stand your ground" law. Stevie Wonder said he refuses to perform there until they repeal it. If he is truly offended by the law and not just the uproar over the Zimmerman/Martin case then he'll have a hard time working if he stops playing in states where they have this same law or a form of it. They include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California (!), Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire (!), North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This leaves 21 states without a form of this law (19 when you learn Virginia and Washington are looking into adapting this type of law) that Wonder will be able to perform in. He's rich enough that he won't suffer much by limiting where he plays. The question is how serious he is about it. Is he saying this simply because of the Zimmerman/Martin case or because he truly feels this law is unjust? If so then he needs to refuse to perform in all 31 states until they all repeal the law.

And what about all those protesting and saying they should boycott Florida simply over the "stand your ground" law there? If they truly feel this is a law that's a problem then why single out Florida? Why not boycott EVERY state that has this law in effect? I mean boycott salmon from Alaska, boycott movies from California, boycott peaches from Georgia, don't watch any Penn State games, no IU basketball, no more Wisconsin cheese, and no more country music from Nashville TN! The list could go on and on.

I suggest people honestly look into those who want to get people angry over the "stand your ground" law. Look at their real motivations. Do they want what they call justice for Trayvon or are they just using his memory to line their own pockets, to justify their own existence? His memory is disserved when it is used as a platform for someone's personal gain rather than to move the discussion forward in an attempt to prevent something like this from happening again.

The fact is that this boycott Florida thing isn't about "stand your ground" laws. It's about getting people riled up. It's about stirring the pot and making everyone get excited. If you don't like the law, work to get it changed. But be honest about it and don't single out one state when 31 have it on their books. Don't dishonestly portray a case like the Zimmerman/Martin case as being a part of this when it actually had nothing to do with it. What happened was a tragedy. It IS terrible that a life was lost. But it had nothing to do with this law. The jury made their decision based on the laws on the books, which didn't include the "stand your ground" law. If you don't like the self defense laws on the books why not work to change them because if the "stand your ground" law weren't on the books it wouldn't have made a difference in the Zimmerman/Martin trial. Deal with reality, with the real laws that were used in making the decision in that trial rather than simply attacking a law that had nothing to do with it.