We need to talk about Stand Your Ground laws, John.

All across our country, we’re witnessing everyday situations and accidents that are met with gunfire. While people may purchase a firearm for a sense of security, we know that you're far more likely to shoot yourself or someone you know with it than ever use it in self defense. And when people do use their guns on strangers, they're often simply mix ups with deadly consequences.

Here are a few recent examples of people getting shot for minor slip ups and in some cases even killed:

— Ralph Yarl was on his way to pick up his younger brothers when he knocked on the neighbor’s door at the wrong address by mistake. Upon answering the door, a white man shot the 16-year old Black teen twice in the forehead and in the right arm.

— Kaylin Gillis, 20, was driving with friends in Upstate New York. When she accidentally turned into the wrong driveway, the homeowner shot and killed her.

— In Texas, Heather Roth and Payton Washington were on their way home from cheerleading practice when they stopped at a supermarket. Heather returned to the wrong car thinking it was her own, saw a man in the passenger seat and quickly turned around. When she returned to the right car, the man had gotten out and began shooting at both of them.

These “accidental” self-defense shootings are no accident. More guns mean more deaths. In 30 states, Stand Your Ground laws are also in place that let gun owners claim “self-defense” when using deadly force, even when there is no threat present. That means a person can avoid criminal charges for shooting and even KILLING someone.

It’s even more dangerous for Black and brown communities. In non-Stand Your Ground states, white people are 250 percent more likely to be found justified in killing a Black person than a white person who kills another white person. In Stand Your Ground states, that number jumps to a whopping 354 percent. Remember George Zimmerman? He was acquitted of attempted murder by claiming self-defense in Florida — another Stand Your Ground state.

Let’s call it what it is: Stand Your Ground laws and these excuses of “self-defense” are outdated and racist. They use fear, paranoia, and prejudice as justifications for gun violence and put guns above all else.

We already know more guns do NOT make us safer. Self-defense laws do NOT make our communities safer. And no one should be shot and killed over a wrong door knock.

In solidarity,

March For Our Lives


March For Our Lives
P.O. Box 3417
New York, NY 10008
United States
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