"Stand Your Ground" Conservatives

One thing that puzzles me about Florida’s “stand your ground” law is that it was championed by “conservatives.”

For hundreds of years English common law (i.e., the organic body of law developed slowly, case by case, by English judges beginning around the eleventh century – and the law that formed the basis of our legal system), held that a person facing a threat inside his home could use deadly force to repel the attacker, but a person threatened outside of his home could not resort to deadly force without first attempting to retreat from the danger.

The rule, known as “castle law,” presumed that a person confronted inside his home (or castle) had no place to retreat to, and so had no duty to retreat. However, a person threatened in a public place might be able to retreat and, thus, to reduce violence and its associated harms, the law imposed a duty to retreat whenever possible.

Example: I’m in a bar and a guy comes up to me and says “I don’t like the cut of your jib. I’m going to beat your head in.” Castle law required those of us with bad jibs to exit the bar, if possible, until the authorities arrived. We could only resort to force if it became impossible to leave.
But Florida conservatives decided that castle law was wimpy and enacted a “stand your ground” law that allows people who “reasonably” feel threatened by another person in public to defend themselves without attempting to retreat. A person who defends himself under these circumstances in Florida is immunized from criminal or civil liability.

Why do I mention this? Because one of the central tenets of conservative thought has been that organic systems, developed over long periods of time, embody wisdom that progressive “reformers” easily overlook. Conservatives have long urged caution in making changes to social institutions and practices that have evolved organically. Look at the tenacity with which some conservatives have fought against changes to marriage law, and before that to racial roles, and before that to male/female roles.

What puzzles me is that “Florida conservatives” voted to ignore a common law rule that had been created and refined over hundreds of years of actual case experience, to give Floridians new “stand your ground” rights. Did it ever occur to them that there might be a reason for the castle law rule? Did they read any of the past cases? Did they consult the judges’reasons?

Did they forget they were conservatives?

Beats me. But I’m glad we still have a duty to retreat in Hawaii. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve got a bad jib and need to leave the bar.

Joe Huster