Stand Your Ground Law Essay

While the use of the gun has become an integral cultural element in contemporary American society, at what extent does self-defense become simply unjustifiable violence? Stand Your Ground laws are simply an expansion of the Castle Doctrine. The set of legislation serve to completely eliminate the need to double think prior to using lethal force on a threatening individual. Furthermore, they provide a backwards reasoning that lethal force is justified. The Stand Your Ground laws have completely shifted the underpinnings of law enforcement one-hundred and eighty degrees. This set of laws blur the line between who is the victim, and who is the aggressor, as well as distorts the role of the victim, attacker and legislation. Without substantial

That being said, an individual (or man,) who was “attacked in his home by a person not having an equal right to be there,” were strongly encouraged to invoke his or her duty to retreat. Traditional self-defense laws are necessary; especially in an age in which the right to bear arms is prized. However, the expansion of these very laws via the Stand Your Ground initiative pose a violent threat to society, as it allows for, and encourages the use of unnecessary violence. These laws completely removed the “duty to retreat outside the home.” While many may argue that this “duty” is somewhat of an internal action, or lack thereof, it was central in the root of the law. The responsibility fell on the individual to never succumb to unnecessary violence, if you are not in immediate