Stand-Your-Ground Laws, the NRA and GOP (vs. Jesus)

I’ve been reading through Facebook comments people have made regarding the recent, Florida “stand your ground” killing. As per the usual, people either recognize that something is deeply wrong with the situation or they say that the murdered person had it coming. I deeply appreciate those who are offended by this violence and have found certain commenters’ efforts at defending the killer to be appalling. As a vocal critic of our nation’s insane gun-culture, I agree with those voices. Stand-Your-Ground killings are absolutely astounding and disgusting. And they should be, especially if you like to call yourself a Christian.

I thought about leaving additional comments here or there on the various social-media threads, but I have no interest in debating pro-gunners who I do not know and have no relationship with. Because, you know, Facebook. But since I mostly write to myself on the blog (and the occasional like-minded soul in a troubled world), I thought I’d turn it into a blog post.

The issue (and insanity) of the Florida killing is the Stand-Your-Ground law, which means that regardless of where you are, as long as you can legally be there, you are authorized to use deadly force in a fight. ANY fight as long as you feel threatened, even if no physical contact has happened. This means that if someone even yells at you or “acts” menacing, you are protected by law to use deadly force. You can literally pick a fight with someone, and if they fight back, you can shoot and kill them under the guise of self-defense without legal repercussions. We’ve seen this before in Florida, perhaps most notoriously with Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager who was confronted and killed in his own neighborhood by a gun-toting neighbor.

Until the Republican Party / GOP and the NRA developed and started pushing Stand-Your-Ground laws, there were two common law precedents covering situations like this. Thank God, most states still operate with these precedents (for now), but the first of these is usually known as the “castle doctrine” which protects folks like homeowners who use deadly force against intruders. You, as the homeowner, have a legal right to be in your property, and thus no obligation to retreat, whereas the intruder does not have any right to be there and is therefore subject to any force the rightful occupant uses. Rightful claims under this common law also include defense of self and others when no other safe option is available.

Prima facie, this almost sounds just like Stand-Your-Ground laws, but here is the difference: under common law, outside of the so-called castle doctrine, you also have an “obligation to retreat” if you can do so safely. So if someone screams at you and shoves you, you are legally obligated to walk away if you can do so safely. In this system, deadly force can ONLY be used as a last resort when ALL other options have been exhausted. Not so with Stand-Your-Ground laws, which eliminate the obligation to retreat. Perhaps you’ve seen the NRA bumper stickers “Stand and Fight.” This is code and advocacy of Stand-Your-Ground laws. Obviously I think that is a mistake, which will inevitably lead to more gun violence and killings. The recent Florida thing pretty much proves the point. I know it goes against our testosterone-fueled rage at being disrespected or threatened, and it certainly cuts against the human propensity and thirst for revenge, but it is nevertheless our obligation as civilized humans and Christians (where applicable) to simply get over ourselves and walk away.

If you’ve ever read much of anything else on my blog, then you know my general disposition towards Republican dogma and what I consider to be our nation’s fetish with guns, violent gun culture, and misapplication of the 2nd Amendment. I take full ownership of that branding, but what I’ve written above is simply not political spin on my part. The fact is that the GOP and the NRA have been (and still are) consistent pushers of Stand-Your-Ground laws in multiple states. They are responsible for the law’s passage in Florida and other states, especially red-states, and they are trying to push it in as many places as possible.

If you’ve come to suspect anything I’ve written, I invite you to do some research. If you find reasonably objective sources and avoid the propaganda mills from either side of the spectrum, I am confident that what I’ve said above will be affirmed. I am equally persuaded that everything below this sentence is accurate, but I also understand that what comes below could be considered political “spin” by some. I believe in full-disclosure, so there it is, but I think that what follows is still reliably accurate and verifiable at points.

It seems to me that the GOP (writ large) is so willing to promote and vote for Stand-Your-Ground laws, especially in red states, because there is a LOT of money to be distributed by the NRA and their gun industry backers to sympathetic politicians. Similarly, gun-right and gun culture are linchpin issues for millions of conservative voters (just as is abortion), so if GOP candidates can manipulate your emotions and whip up the base against the fear of criminals, gangbangers, immigrants, and liberals (who supposedly want to come and take their guns away), then these politicians can lock-in their re-election bids. If you’ve not heard about it, the NRA always publishes a score-card to its members on who to vote for, and getting an A-grade requires full-on support of NRA agenda items like Stand-Your-Ground laws, legalization of silencers, bump-stocks, and other murderous “tools.” It’s an easy thing to go for if all you care about is money and staying in power rather than the safety of your citizens.

If you are deeply troubled by the Florida killing, it seems that you and I are both aligned in our disbelief and taking offense at the situation. I just wanted to take the time to point out why Stand-Your-Ground (and Republican support) is so problematic as much as I wanted encourage people to speak out against it and vote against the NRA and ANY political candidate who pushes for adopting/strengthening such misguided laws. These laws and other NRA agenda items are not good for people or our nation, and most importantly, they do not align with the cause of Christ, particularly when it comes to things like “turning the cheek” and loving our enemies and neighbors as ourselves. If you actually believe what Jesus said, then it is your responsibility to resist the NRA agenda and violence provoking Stand-Your-Ground laws. There is no other, non-hypocritical option.

Thanks for reading me.

-Corbin