‘Stand Your Ground' Law Linked to Significant Increase in Homicides: Study

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, the subject of controversy following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, has been linked to a significant increase in gun-related homicides, a new study has found.

As NBC News reports, the paper, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says that the implementation in 2005 of the state’s self-defense law was associated with a 24.4 percent increase in homicides — and a 31.6 percent increase in firearm-related homicides.

A so-called “Stand Your Ground” law removes the duty to retreat when confronted with a perceived deadly threat. Florida was the first of more than 20 states to have implemented such laws.

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