Arizona’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law

Yuma Sun:  “If you think the kind of incident that resulted in the death of a Florida teen cannot happen here, you’re wrong.

Arizona adopted its own “stand your ground” law two years ago. And not a single legislator spoke out against it at that time.

In fact, the change in the law was tacked on at nearly the last minute to another unrelated measure dealing with guns. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it after just a 20-second promotion from a gun-rights lobbyist.

Dave Kopp of the Arizona Citizens Defense League, who provided that explanation, said nothing more was needed.

He noted that existing law already spelled out that people have no duty to retreat when confronted in their homes or their own vehicles. That concept is known as the “castle doctrine.”

“We believe that anyplace you have a legal right to be, you should be able to defend yourself without having to run away first,” Kopp told lawmakers.”