John–

Stand Your Ground laws—a priority of the gun lobby and its allies—encourage a dangerous shoot first, think later approach to using a firearm. They also enable racist anti-Black violence.

Read and share our new report today to learn more about how Stand Your Ground laws disproportionately affect Black and brown Americans.

This Black History Month, we're calling attention to the ways in which anti-Black racism and gun violence intersect in the United States. When it comes to Stand Your Ground laws, we're witnessing a push by the gun lobby to make armed vigilantism the law of the land. And they're doing it by presenting it as a solution to a problem that—in reality—does not exist.

Here are just some of the facts on how dangerous Stand Your Ground laws are:

• Stand Your Ground laws are associated with an increase in homicide rates, translating to more than 150 additional gun deaths each month in the U.S. overall.
  
  
• In Stand Your Ground states, homicides in which white shooters kill Black victims are deemed justifiable five times more frequently than when the situation is reversed.
  
  
• Stand Your Ground laws are based on a lie. People with a legitimate reason to defend themselves are already fully protected under traditional self-defense law, and research shows that it is extremely unlikely that the average person will ever need to use a gun to defend themself.

John, Stand Your Ground laws enable racist violence and white supremacy. Period.

This Black History Month, educate yourself and those in your network about the ongoing intersection of anti-Black racism and gun violence in the United States.

Together, we can end this crisis.

Thank you for being a part of this movement.

Keni Nooner
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund