Stronger Alabama Stand Your Ground Law Strengthens Self Defense Claims

Analyst recently stated that a stronger Alabama stand your ground law strengthens self defense claims. In 2013, Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law grew due to the sponsored initiative of State Senator Bryan Taylor, R-Pratville. Law makers expanded the law to include more circumstances in which the use of deadly force qualifies as self-defense. According to these changes, the use of such force is justified when physical force is about to be used on a business property during closed hours or when a crime is about to be committed. Law makers already touched upon such provisions through the ‘no duty to retreat’ clause present in the pre-2006 law. However, significant differences existed between the stand your ground laws, which places the burden of proof down to the defendant, and the castle doctrine, which places that responsibility with the prosecution.

Stand Your Ground/Castle Laws: A Quick Definition

Since 2005, 31 American states became Stand Your Ground States by increasing the strength of their self-defense laws. Legal prosecutors say it is now more difficult than ever before for the authorities to prove fire arm use is illegal as a means for self-defense. In Texas and Louisiana, the law also applies to people who use firearms in self-defense while inside a vehicle or at work. In Idaho and Hawaii, weapon users who are found not guilty due to acting in self-defense cannot be sued in civil lawsuits. And in most states (including Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and others), a citizen does not have to retreat from a confrontation in a public place before legally shooting in self defense. In some of these states, the burden of proof lies with the prosecutors who must demonstrate that the person fired the weapon without acting in self-defense. In Michigan and Texas, lethal force can be used to stop criminals from fleeing the scene.

Of course, these laws, which allow leeway for Self Defense Gun Claims, have seen their fair share of controversy. Perhaps the biggest such debate caused by a Castle Law came in 2012 when the Florida resident George Zimmerman shot and killed 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. At the time, 28 states attempted to scale back their self-defense gun laws. All of these attempts ultimately failed. In particular, Alabama experienced two highly publicized stand your ground cases in the Baldwin and Jefferson counties respectively. One case involved a bout of road rage which led to a firearm being shot. The shooter was convicted of assault in the second degree, but will not serve jail time. The second case involved a stabbing at a gas station. The defense argued for self-defense in this case.

The Alabama Stand Your Ground Law

In the state of Alabama, the Stand Your Ground Law came into effect in 2006. Some defense lawyers in the state claim that the number of gun-related cases in which self-defense is argued increased with the implementation of the ‘no duty to retreat’ clause into the general law. In 2013, the Alabama legislature actually expanded this clause to include more circumstances in which it applies. However, though many argue this clause makes self-defense easier, no actual, concrete statistics prove the number of gun fatalities in the state, in which a claim of self-defense is used, increased or decreased since the implementation. An early report from August from the American Bar Association does not show that stand your ground states have witnessed more killings recently. There have also been some inconsistent applications of this law based on the ethnicity of the people involved. It is important to bear in mind, though, that no such data exists for Alabama. The same legal provision yielded different results even within the same county.

However, these stand your ground laws show one thing clearly: gun ownership and gun rights are alive in well in the state of Alabama. If you’re interested in making a career from gun sales or gun modification, why not look into gun-smithing? Here is a list of the most popular Alabama locations to pursue education for gun-smithing:

Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa