Florida killings increased after ‘Stand Your Ground’ law passage
According to a new study, gun-related killings in Florida increased after the passage of the controversial "Stand Your Ground" law.
According to a new study, gun-related killings in Florida increased after the passage of the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law.
The report, published this month in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined data from 1999 to 2014. In its findings, the study found that homicides were up 24.4 percent, with gun-related homicides up 31.6 percent since the law passed in 2005.
The law protects people who use deadly force when it is used in self-defense and has drawn national criticism especially after its use in the defense of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012.
At the time of the law’s passage, then-Miami Police Chief John Timoney said of the law that it was a “license to murder” and that it could lead to lethal force being used “where it shouldn’t be used.”
