Repeal Stand Your Ground Law

By on March 19, 2013 in
Repeal of the infamous Stand Your Ground law will be voted upon (HB 135) by the full State House on Wednesday, March 20. Stand Your Ground allows a person who decides he is being threatened to shoot to kill another individual. As we saw in the Trayvon Martin case, this law virtually legalizes murder.  Suppose two people argue, and one kills the other. If there are no witnesses to the murder, the shooter can be acquitted simply by claiming he felt threatened.The dead man cannot say otherwise.
For 34 years prior to the Stand Your Ground law, New Hampshire operated without problems under the Castle Doctrine (i.e., as in your home is your castle). The Castle Doctrine allowed the use of deadly force by a person to defend his home and family. Outside the home, a person could use a gun if he could demonstrate that he had used all reasonable means to avoid being harmed before shooting as a last resort. If the Stand Your Ground law is repealed, the Castle Doctrine will replace it. Surely, the Castle Doctrine provides more than enough protection.
Two recent polls, one by UNH and the other by New England College, clearly showed that a large majority of New Hampshire residents favor new gun safety regulations.  Yet, predictably, gun rights advocates, who are in the minority, have created a clamor, inundating state representatives and state senators with email and phone calls, thus creating the illusion that they represent a majority view.
Email or telephone your state representatives before Wednesday, March 20  and ask them to support HB 135, the repeal of the Stand Your Ground law.
For the names and contact information for your legislators, go to NH.Gov. Click on Government. Click on State Government. Click on General Court Site. Click on Find My Legislator?. Click on each legislator’s name for email address and telephone number.(It’s easier than it seems.)
The moment is at hand. Just do it. Good luck.

About Gary Patton

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  • Rep. Jim Splaine

    Excellent Gary. It’s amazing that some gun owners so much want to show their “power” and “manhood” by being boss of the street. Sort of like the Old Wild West of Wyatt Earp.

    The bill does nothing to take a right away to “defend” yourself; just that you have to find an easier way out if you can. But some gun owners — certainly not all but a vocal minority — want the power over others that they think they have with their guns and bullets. Sad, really.

    • mevansnh

      It’s much like the ban on assault weapons and big clips. The majority of Americans support such bans, but you can’t get a majority in Congress to do likewise because they fear the NRA. They have the courage of the Lion in the WOO.

    • http://livablemht.org FrankLloydMike

      Right on, except that it is those of us who oppose “Stand Your Ground” who are like Wyatt Earp. The most famous gunfight in American history occurred in part because the outlaw Cowboys were carrying deadly weapons and threatening law enforcement officers in violation of an ordinance, which banned deadly weapons in the town of Tombstone. Right-wingers today like to pretend that they’re following in the proud footsteps of the Wild West, but they’re really following in the footsteps of criminals.

  • hannah

    The law should not be fashioned to suit those who are endemically afraid because their fears cannot be erased. Since their sense of insecurity can’t be eased, there’s no point in the rest of us being put at risk

    • BobRobertson

      Isn’t the basis for repealing the law that people are afraid of what might happen? Afraid that there are wanna-be superheros who will shoot it out in the street, but need it to be legal first?

      It doesn’t matter one way or the other to me. The law doesn’t change when I would or would not defend myself or another person with lethal force, because I would do so only if I could see no other way.

  • MartyInNashua

    As a courtesy to a member who wished to speak but was unavailable today, HB135 was special ordered to March 27, where it falls first on the regular calendar.