Personal Protection and the Use Essay

On the other hand, it is possible that such scenarios are extreme, and are based on the same time of 'slippery slope' logic that causes people to wonder if legalizing gay marriages will lead to people marrying animals. Extremism on either side of an issue is never a good thing, nor is the fabrication of doomsday scenarios that are based on nothing but speculation. Sarah Palin should know that better than anybody with her 'death panel' stories.

So while extreme caution regarding where all of these pro-gun, pro-self-defense laws may be overstated, at the same time, we cannot afford to simply look away and hope that the trend ends here. As the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (2009) points out, these laws are not only dangerous but are in many ways, legally and ethically unjust:

Leaving aside the public safety issues associated with encouraging untrained civilians to confront criminals with deadly force, the Shoot First statute is a naked assault on the rule of law, because it divests police and the courts of the power to settle disputes, substituting a bystander or crime victim's judgment for trial by jury and the presumption of innocence. This may increase freedom in the sense that it removes the threat of legal sanctions when a vigilante decides to shoot someone they think is a criminal, but it diminishes the rights of the person (innocent or guilty) who gets shot (p. 1).

In the end, while there is no denying that people should have the right to defend themselves against some who is trying to kill them or rape them, the adage 'violence begets violence' seems extremely apropos to this situation. Even policemen who have been specifically trained to 'kill or be killed' are likely to exhaust every possible alternative before gunning someone down and killing them. Giving the same rights and powers to the untrained average Joe as are given to the police does not seem the like the wisest move. Yet more states continuously adapt Castle Doctrines despite the clear negative repercussions. Whether this trend will progress or reverse remains to be seen, but more than likely, it will take a tragedy of magnanimous proportions before the laws begin heading back in the other direction.

References

Carroll, J. (2007, October 26) How Americans protect themselves from crime. Gallup Daily News. Retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/102418/how-americans-protect-themselves-from-crime.aspx

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (2009) Shoot first laws, Retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://www.csgv.org/site/c.pmL5JnO7KzE/b.3509335/

Florida use of deadly force for self-defense (2008) Sammis Law, Retrieved October 28, 2009 from http://www.criminaldefenseattorneytampa.com/FloridaDefenses/DeadlyForceSelf-Defense.aspx

Kaufman, W. (2004) Is there a "Right" to self-defense? Criminal Justice Ethics, 23, 20-31

Liptak, a. (2006, August 7) 15 states expand right to shoot in self-defense, New York Times, Retrieved October 29 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/07/us/07shoot.html

Seigel, L.J. (2008) Criminology. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning

Stoddard, E. (2007, March 27) Texas signs new self-defense by gun law, Reuters, Retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2721289620070327

Tekel (2009, January 24) Castle Doctrine Map, Retrieved October 26, 2009 from http://tekel.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/castle-doctrine-map-update-for-january-2009/

Appendix a

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/102418/how-americans-protect-themselves-from-crime.aspx

Appendix B

Note: Red states have…