Analysis of “Stand Your Ground” Laws and Statewide Rates of Homicides and Firearm Homicides

Despite numerous implementations of “stand your ground” (SYG) laws, or policies that provide legal immunity to individuals who publicly use deadly force, their exact impact on violence is still unclear. Led by PISC postdoctoral fellow Michelle Degli Esposti, PhD, PISC Executive Director Douglas Wiebe, PhD, Antonia Gasparrini, and PISC International Scholar David Humphreys, PhD, this study aimed to better characterize the association between SYG laws and homicide, especially in context of demographics like location, race, age, and sex. The study found that SYG laws were associated with a mean national increase of 7.8% in monthly homicide rates, suggesting that increased use of SYG laws is correlated with increased violent deaths.

Published just a week ago, the study’s findings have already been covered by The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and ABC, among other news outlets.

 

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