Florida Shooting: It Could Happen Here

Today's newspapers and television programs are alive with the story of the shooting of Trayvon Martin allegedly by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Florida's "stand your ground" gun law makes this story particularly noteworthy. Zimmerman claims that he was threatened by Martin.

According to its previous "castle doctrine" (as in your home is your castle), gun owners in Florida had the right to use deadly force when threatened inside their homes. Outside their homes, gun owners could shoot only after they had made every attempt to escape a threatening situation.

The "stand your ground" gun law replaced and expanded the "castle doctrine." According to "stand your ground," when threatened,  a person could
shoot an alleged attacker, so long as the gun owner was in a place where it was
legal to be. Other than that, all that was required was that the person with the
gun feel threatened.

What relevance does this story have to New Hampshire? Last September, our Republican-dominated legislature, despite Democratic opposition, did the same thing that was done in Florida - it replaced a "castle doctrine" gun law with a "stand your ground" law. So what happened in Florida has a direct bearing on New Hampshire.

An investigation of the Martin shooting is still underway by both the Justice Department and Seminole County, so not all the facts are known. Rather thanprejudge that case, consider a similar one which is complete and where all the evidence is known.

According to the Tampa Bay Times (10/15/2010), "Billy Kuch got drunk, so drunk that at 5 a.m., one day he stumbled to the door of the wrong house in a look-alike neighborhood and tried to open it, twice."

"Before the 'stand your ground' law, homeowner Gregory Stewart would have been expected to hunker down in his Land O' Lakes residence, dead-bolt secure, and call police."

"With the law in place, he could use deadly force anywhere he had a right to be, provided he felt threatened with death or great bodily harm. He had no duty to retreat from danger."

"Stewart left his wife inside with their baby and stepped outside, gun in
hand."

"Kuch put his hands up and asked for a light.

"'Please don't make me shoot you,' Stewart said."

"Kuch, then 23, says he might have stumbled. Stewart, then 32, told police the unarmed man took three steps forward."

"The bullet ripped into Kuch's chest, nicked his heart, shot through his liver, in and out of his stomach, through his spleen, then out his back. He felt like his body was on fire.

"Stewart, when questioned by deputies, began to cry. 'I could have given him a light,' he said."

"The days ticked by, Kuch in a coma as his parents waited for word of a trial. And waited. After two months, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office decided the shooting was justified and dropped the aggravated battery charge."

"Kuch's parents couldn't believe it."

"'We're not against gun ownership,' said Bill Kuch, 57 and retired from IBM. 'But we're against this law that provides someone the right to kill you without
prosecution.'"

"Billy Kuch spent more than a month in the hospital."

"'The guy is 6-1, 250. I'm 5-9, 165, and I have a 0.3 blood-alcohol level,' he said. 'Did he really think that I was going to be able to take his gun away?'"

And, of course, a major flaw in the "stand your ground" law is the inability of people to accurately judge whether or not they are being seriously threatened. Another problem, as Kuch's father noted, is that the law allows charges to be dropped following a murder with no further investigation. When two people are involved, and one of them is dead, that leaves only one explanation of events from a person who is obviously motivated to appear innocent.

According to the Times, "The Times searched major Florida newspapers and found at least 93 cases in the past five years (since 'stand your ground' was passed) in which the new law was a factor. . . In 57 of them, those who used force were either not charged with a crime or charges were dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by a judge before trial. seven other defendants were acquitted. . . The use of force resulted in 65 deaths."

Beth Kassab writes in the Orlando Sentinel, "You can't say we weren't warned.Back in 2005, opponents of Florida's first-of-its kind 'stand your ground' law said it wouldn't be long before we'd see shootouts in the streets - all in thename of self defense. . . From 2000 to 2005 (before 'stand your ground' was law), an average of 13 killings by private citizens were deemed justified each year. Between 2006 and 2010 (after 'stand your ground' was passed) that average increased to 36 killings per year."

Legislators in Florida are currently seriously considering whether or not  to repeal or modify its 'stand your ground' law. Will New Hampshire legislators do the same before it's too late? The votes by state representatives representing Hampton and North Hampton that contributed to the passage over Democratic Gov. Lynch's veto of the 'stand your ground' law in September of 2011 appear below. D stands
for Democrat; R stands for Republican. Yes supports 'stand your ground'; no
opposes it.

Hampton: Chris Nevins (R) - yes; Fred Rice (R) - yes; Ken Sheffert (R) - yes; Kevin Sullivan - not voting; James Waddell (R) - no.

North Hampton: Patrick Abrami (R) - yes; Timothy Copeland (R) - no; Patricia Lovejoy (D) - no; Michele Peckham (R) - yes; Marshall Quandt (R) - yes; Matthew Quandt  (R) - yes; Donna Schlachman (D) - no; Joanne Ward (R) - not voting.