Who Gets to Claim Self-Defense in Stand Your Ground States?

Guest: Caroline Light, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University, Author, “Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense”  At least half of states have "Stand Your Groung Laws," giving people the right to use deadly force in defending themselves. But a recent shooting in Florida underscores why these laws are controversial: a white man starts an argument with a black woman in a parking lot. The woman’s boyfriend – also black – comes out and shoves the white man. The white man pulls out a gun, shoots and kills the black man, and has yet to be charged with any crime because Florida has a law that gave him the right to defend himself with deadly force.