Thread: Florida's Stand Your Ground Law

Quick comment about a sentence in the news story:

The new law even allows a disproportionate response; if someone comes at you with a fist, you can reply with a gun.

I would argue that if the person with the gun is a 100-lb., 5'3" (45 kg, 1.6 m) woman and the person with the fists is a 200-lb., 6'3" (90 kg, 2 m) man who's looking for someone to rape, using the gun is hardly "disproportionate"!

After all, a so-called "proportionate response" in such a case (that is, fist to fist) would almost certainly end with the woman being severely beaten and raped, even if she's a black belt in karate.

That's the theoretical rationale for making private gun ownership relatively simple -- a gun can help to balance the odds between a small, weak victim and a large, strong attacker, or between one victim and a whole gang of attackers.

P.S. With that point made, it's important to note that in this case, the shooter Zimmerman was about 45 kilos heavier than the victim Martin, who was unarmed and walking alone -- which makes the "reasonably felt threatened" defense rather less believable.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

After all, a so-called "proportionate response" in such a case (that is, fist to fist) would almost certainly end with the woman being severely beaten and raped, even if she's a black belt in karate.

There is also a high chance that the woman will be shot from her own gun in this situation

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

P.S. With that point made, it's important to note that in this case, the shooter Zimmerman was about 45 kilos heavier than the victim Martin, who was unarmed and walking alone -- which makes the "reasonably felt threatened" defense rather less believable.

The law itself makes any person (A) in any situation "reasonably threatened" because the person (A) has reasons to think that the another person (B) can have a gun and be "reasonably threatened" enough to shoot person (A). So the person (A) is threatened enough to shoot person (B).

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Even to apply for so called "traumatic" gun, which shoots plastic bullets, you must belong to a certain category of people (a deputy, a court worker or a judge, a journalist, etc.), and you need to get a huge amount of papers without any guarantee that your wish will be granted

In Russia many people have got a "traumatic". It is not too difficult to get it. One just need to pass all the paper work and to have no criminal records.