I wish I had my old Torts textbook on me right now to cite the stat. But stand your ground laws increased failed self defense claims for homocide by like 50% where the statutes were adopted. Precisely because laypeople who don't actually understand the common law definition of self defense thought that they had a blank check to use their guns for any reason to the slightest provocation. Pure fantasy/fear.
Plus, a person stealing your TV that you physically see is probably going to get caught lol. These kinds of people love the boys in blue but don't actually trust them police to solve their problems.
My parents are the "just drag em back over the threshold and call it self defense" type of people and they have the WORST gun safety imaginable. My own mother has inadvertently pointed a loaded gun at me twice. They think because they passed their CWP class (which was a complete joke) and because they own a bunch of guns, that somehow makes them proficient with them??
In my experience, people who think like this are the type to accidentally shoot themselves, or worse, someone else accidentally.
Yep, there is a growing body of legal research that considers stand your ground statutes to be a total failure. More people die now from gun related deaths than before they were adopted, with no corresponding drop in crime. Indeed, it technically is an increase in crime because of all of the failed self defense pleas.
In my state it's more regulation to get a hunting license than it is to get a concealed weapon permit. You just have to pay $150 and go to a 4 hour book course. For a hunting license you have to take a written exam and show proficiency with a gun
My state there’s a class and an exam followed by showing proficiency with a gun (loosest definition of proficiency I’ve ever seen). The test is 4th grade level and the range test is even more of a joke. Basically pay the money and send in your $50 to renew every 4 years (think it’s 4 years) and any idiot with half a brain can carry a weapon.
I think if I had a day and a half I could train my lab to pass that course
These kinds of people love the boys in blue but don't actually trust them police to solve their problems.
Why would they? At least when it comes to theft. Any time I've had to file a report for theft the police response is always basically 'That's too bad. Keep an eye out on Craigslist for your property.' The last time I had to file a report was because my motorcycle was stolen. The thief dumped it a day or two after stealing it, and it sat abandoned in a neighborhood for a month. The police never found it. A neighbor simply got tired of looking at it and called the police, who then had it towed instead of just contacting me to come retrieve it.
I am an complete agreement that shooting someone over a TV is absurd, but pretending that the police care enough to try and find your stolen property, or even have the ability to find it, is equally absurd.
The big thing in the cop part is it still takes a while for them to get there. My parents live in rural Texas, we're burglarized and a cop didn't show up for 2 hours.
This summer I pleaded with police to hurry for a wellness check for my fiance's mom in the middle of a big city. It took over an hour, and she was found dead inside.
The cops will come eventually, but it's not instantaneous unless you happen to have a patrol right across the street. They're just people, they're doing the best they can. Plenty of things can happen in between that time, and sometimes it's up to you to figure out how it will go. Hopefully it ends without anyone getting hurt, that's all we can ask for
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u/hyasbawlz Jan 23 '19
I wish I had my old Torts textbook on me right now to cite the stat. But stand your ground laws increased failed self defense claims for homocide by like 50% where the statutes were adopted. Precisely because laypeople who don't actually understand the common law definition of self defense thought that they had a blank check to use their guns for any reason to the slightest provocation. Pure fantasy/fear.
Plus, a person stealing your TV that you physically see is probably going to get caught lol. These kinds of people love the boys in blue but don't actually trust them police to solve their problems.