Study: Stand Your Ground Laws Increase Homicides [View all]

[Cali_Democrat]

Study: Stand Your Ground Laws Increase Homicides

by: Edward Garris
Thu Jun 14, 2012 at 02:30 PM CDT

<...>

Proponents of Stand Your Ground Laws claim that such laws make aspiring criminals think twice before committing violence. They tout the deterrent effect. As further support, they cite the protection of blameless victims. They argue, essentially, that the laws save lives, and that even where lives are not saved, the lives lost are the lives with lesser societal value.

Without addressing that last contention, a new study seriously undermines the first contention, that those laws save lives. The new study, from the Department of Economics at Texas A&M, comes to a devastating conclusion in its first page:

"We find no evidence of deterrence; burglary, robbery, and aggravated assault are unaffected by the laws. On the other hand, we find that murder and non-negligent manslaughter are increased by 7 to 9 percent. This could represent either increased use of lethal force in self-defense situations, or the escalation of violence in otherwise non-lethal situations. Regardless, the results indicate that a primary consequence of strengthening self-defense law is increased homicide."

http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/12379/study-stand-your-ground-laws-are-failed-policy

You mean the NRA and their right wing enablers are full of shit?

Whodda thunk it?