Researchers say the state-level laws 'should be reconsidered to prevent unnecessary violent deaths.'
Kenny StancilSo-called"stand your ground" laws are associated with hundreds of additional homicides each year in the United States, according to new conducted by public health scholars, who say that these laws"should be reconsidered to prevent unnecessary violent deaths."
The enactment of SYG laws contributed to an especially pronounced rise in firearm homicide rates in many Southern states that were quick to adopt the laws, with upticks ranging from 16.2% to 33.5% in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Missouri. "Understanding the factors shaping these differential associations between states, such as regions endorsing the use of self-protective violence, existing state firearm legislation, and firearm availability, is key to understanding how and why legally expanding the right to use deadly violence in public is associated with increases in homicides in some states but not others," they continued.
Anecdotally, critics' concerns have been realized in an increasing number of shootings of young Black men where self-defense has been claimed.