Anti-gun advocates are picking on the state of Florida for recently
passing a law giving citizens more legal protection when they use
deadly force for self-defense. But these critics are just trying to
scare people, says columnist Steve Chapman.
When Florida passed a law in 1987 making it easier for citizens to
carry concealed weapons, opponents predicted the streets would run red
with blood. But such has not been the case, says Chapman:
o Since the law was passed, Florida’s murder rate has dropped
by half.
o People have carried guns responsibly; of the 1 million
permits granted in 18 years, only 155 people have had
their licenses revoked, which amounts to only one for
every 7,000 permits issued.
The new law, which took effect October 1, permits citizens to use
deadly force if facing “imminent death or great bodily harm.” But
contrary to what gun-control advocates believe, the law doesn’t allow a
person to shoot simply because they are annoyed by another person. It
permits deadly force only if the person is attacked or threatened with
violence, or the person has good reason to fear being killed or badly
hurt.
Criminologist Don Kates says that the Sunshine State’s new law is
nothing new. “The majority of American states have always held that a
person who is attacked anywhere in a manner that threatens death or
great bodily harm is entitled to use deadly force to resist, rather
than retreating from the attacker.”
Source: Steve Chapman, ““Safer with Guns: Critics of Florida Law are
just Trying to Scare People,” Dallas Morning News, October 17, 2005.