Of course, I've known for more than a decade now that leftists don't understand Stand Your Ground laws. I've been reminded of that several times.
Still, upon becoming aware of the existence of Byrna, a company that makes "less lethal" projectile weapons, I'm becoming aware of how dangerously ignorant a lot of people are regardless of political affiliation.
No, Stand Your Ground doesn't mean that you can shoot somebody because you "feel threatened." A racist like Hillary Clinton can't just shoot a black guy in a hoodie because she felt fear. You have to demonstrate that you were placed in a situation in which a reasonable person would perceive a imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. Stand Your Ground doesn't change that.
Still, another misconception is how aggressive Stand Your Ground laws in regard to allowing you to not retreat.
Byrna advertises that its weapons are effective over twenty yards.
If you shoot somebody with a gun from twenty yards away, Stand Your Ground state or not, you're going to prison. If you kill the person, you're going to prison for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter if that person was shouting that he was gonna kill you. If he's that far away, a reasonable person would make an attempt to retreat.
Byrna is selling a really dangerous idea. Their weapons are basically pepper spray in pellet form. If you shoot somebody with one of these things from twenty yards, that's assault and battery. You go to prison for that. The only difference between New York and Florida on this issue may be the sentencing.
I understand that the language that people use to try to explain Stand Your Ground, like "feel threatened" and "You don't have to run away." is simple, and seems concise. Still, it's dangerously misleading.
It's dangerously misleading when talking to people on the left because it gives them ammunition to throw more people in prison for defending themselves.
It's dangerously misleading to the average person who is reasonably concerned about the recent spike in violent crime and want to defend themselves because, if they do find themselves in a scary situation, they may land themselves in prison because they don't understand the law.
Of course, the use of deadly force should only be a last resort. Anybody who misreads Stand Your Ground to mean that you can use deadly force, or less lethal force, for any reason other than facing a imminent threat of deadly violence, should end up in prison.
Under the letter of the law, they do.