Actually - I think that we really haven't covered the issue of concealed weapon permits. We've only touched on it.
Forget for a moment the larger issue of gun control - let's assume we all agree people can have a rifle/handgun in their home for defense.
Should anyone be able to carry a concealed weapon out in public?
Also - regarding Stand Your Ground - If Martin was armed this could have led to an Ol West shootout. In theory, if you extend the idea - you can have groups of people "Standing Their Ground" against whole other groups (think OK Corral). Should we seriously allow this?
The discussion of Stand Your Ground laws should be viewed in light of the long standing defense of Self Defense. The defense is rooted in common law (meaning the law developed over hundreds of years and thousands of cases and is not a result of legislation). To rely on the defense, the burden of establishing the elements is on the defendant.
The general rule is a person may use non-deadly force to prevent imminent injury. The development of this law extended the applicability of the defense to include the use of deadly force when a person is in reasonable fear of serious injury or death.
Some states modified the deadly force aspect of the Self Defense rule with the statutory requirement of a Duty of Retreat. This means a defendant must take reasonable steps to retreat and so demonstrated an intention not to fight before eventually using force. The exception is not universal, with exceptions stating that a person need not retreat from their own home or a person acting under color of authority (a police officer).
Stand Your Ground is not a recent invention and is essentially the rejection of the Duty of Retreat. Some states have established Stand Your Ground by statute, while others it has developed by court decisions. The underlying concept for Stand Your Ground is that there is no duty to retreat when a person is assaulted
in a place where he or she has a right to be.
It can be argued that the imposition of a Duty of Retreat rewards the aggressor and deprives a person’s right to “be where he or she has a right to be” when faced with an aggressor.
There have been suggestions that Stand Your Ground laws will return us to the days of the “Wild West”. I haven’t seen sufficient evidence to suggest that has actually happened.
Concealed Carry laws perhaps should be a separate thread. Interestingly, people have the right to obtain a Conceal Carry Permit in all 50 States. I’ll have to spend more time researching this topic – I would be interested to see how often a person uses a concealed weapon if they do have a permit – and how often the use was improper.
Knowing that some states have very restrictive gun control laws, it would be interesting to see who is able to obtain a concealed carry permit. My gut tells me the wealthy and, more importantly, politically connected, will always be able to get these permits.