Decent articles on Stand Your Ground in the general press are relatively few, being far outnumbered by those that are sensationalist, axe-grinding or simply uninformed. So it’s nice to be able to recommend this one by Peter Jamison in the Tampa Bay Times [via Jacob Sullum].
In other news, a United Nations panel in Geneva monitoring compliance with international human rights law has questioned a wide range of United States domestic policies, including some states’ adoption of Stand Your Ground as well as lack of gun control and other offenses. “The committee is charged with upholding the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a UN treaty that the US ratified in 1992.” Another reminder that treaties have consequences, and that ratification of other purported human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD), would not be without public consequences relating to many domestic policies. [Guardian]
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Excellent article. (It’s sad that Zimmerman’s self defense became associated with “stand your ground” because someone who has been knocked to the ground and is having his head bashed into the sidewalk clearly _can’t_ reatreat.) I’m a Californian and had no idea that California already had a “stand your ground” concept firmly established in its law.
Surely David Holder must know about the law, too. Which makes his grandstanding over the person Obama said could be “his son” in Florida even more disgusting.
Who would have guessed that states allowing concealed carry of a firearm would result in more people using the firearm in a “justifiable homicide” scenario?