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Stand-Your-Ground Question

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:35 pm
by tomc
Can someone please cite some credible articles/publications in regards to the Stand-Your-Ground laws currently in force around the country? These articles should address various state laws, such as the Castle doctrine law in Texas and other SYG laws from other states and should address both the impact to defensive users of the laws as well as safeguards built into the laws to protect both defense and prosecution issues.

I recall that Virginia Citizens Defense League had issues with the recent attempt to pass a SYG in Virginia because some aspects of the proposed law may have been harmful instead of helpful. Didn't fully understand their concerns.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Stand-Your-Ground Question

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:50 pm
by Beiruty
tomc wrote:Can someone please cite some credible articles/publications in regards to the Stand-Your-Ground laws currently in force around the country? These articles should address various state laws, such as the Castle doctrine law in Texas and other SYG laws from other states and should address both the impact to defensive users of the laws as well as safeguards built into the laws to protect both defense and prosecution issues.

I recall that Virginia Citizens Defense League had issues with the recent attempt to pass a SYG in Virginia because some aspects of the proposed law may have been harmful instead of helpful. Didn't fully understand their concerns.

Thanks in advance!

Tom,

You can start here: http://libguides.lib.uci.edu/content.ph ... id=2642753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please share the summary of your findings, if any.

Thanks.

Re: Stand-Your-Ground Question

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:36 am
by PracticalTactical
An important thing to understand about SYG is that it's not a standalone law that can be interpreted on its own.

The media puts up snippets of the law and claim it justifies murder, but if you look at other related statutes like the Initial Aggressor Rule or general justifiable homicide, they really rein in SYG by requiring that the person not be the aggressor and that the force used be reasonable and necessary. Actions taken under SYG are still subject to those same principles.