In July 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, thanks in part to Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law. In the wake of that decision, the U.S. attorney general, an American Bar Association task force, and numerous state legislators have urged states to rethink such laws, which permit citizens to use deadly force with no duty to retreat.
But thanks to a highly controversial legislator and candidate for state attorney general, Missouri may be on the verge of becoming the first state to enact such a law since that time.
State Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R) successfully attached an amendment on Wednesday night onto S.B. 663, a crime bill, that would allow deadly force to be used against trespassers on one’s private property if a person “reasonably believes” it is “necessary to protect himself, or herself or her unborn child, or another against death, serious physical injury, or any forcible felony.”
Schaefer, who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general, had earlier proposed Stand Your Ground as a stand-alone bill. He argued at the time that the bill would let people focus on defending themselves instead of the future legal implications of their actions: “You’re going to do whatever you need to do if your safety is in jeopardy. The question is, what happens in the lawsuit after that? Are you going to be faced with liability after that?”
In 2014, Schaefer successfully pushed through a state constitutional amendment to nullify gun laws, asserting that “the right to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right.” The amendment had what may have been unintended consequences: Months after its enactment, a state judge threw out charges that a convicted felon was in illegal possession of a firearm, citing a strict interpretation of Schaefer’s amendment.
Still, he has staunchly defended the constitutional provision, boasting after the state’s highest court upheld its constitutionality that the ruling was a victory for “Missouri gun owners, sportsmen, and future generations who will enjoy unalienable gun rights in our state” — and a “major defeat” for “liberals like Michael Bloomberg and St. Louis Police Chief Dodson who wish to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.”
The moves in recent by Schaefer and the Republican-controlled legislature to roll back gun laws in the Show-Me State have been highly successful — and come with a huge price. A 2014 study found that following the repeal of state laws requiring comprehensive background checks and purchase permits, Missouri’s gun homicide rate increased by more than 15 percent — as the national rate dropped 11 percent. The state has one of the highest gun murder rates in the country.
Those already high crime rates could get worse still with this latest proposal. A 2012 Texas A&M; study found that while there is no evidence that Stand Your Ground laws deter crime, they do result in about 600 more homicides annually, nationwide — an increase of about 8 percent. Those researchers concluded that by “lowering the expected costs associated with using lethal force, [Stand Your Ground] laws induce more of it.” Researchers from Georgia State University, examining a different data, set also observed an increase in homicides in states that enacted these laws.
“Passing a Stand Your Ground bill here in Missouri would turn everyday conflicts into deadly encounters by emboldening people to shoot rather than resolving disagreements in another way,” Becky Morgan, volunteer chapter leader of the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action said in a statement. “Do not be misled: Stand Your Ground laws do not deter crime, they make every day situations more dangerous by allowing people to shoot first and ask questions later. Our lawmakers should focus instead on keeping guns away from dangerous people.”
With the session scheduled to end on May 13, the Senate is expected to resume consideration of the bill next week. Assuming it passes and is approved by the state House, it would then go to Gov. Jay Nixon (D). Nixon has a mixed record on gun issues, but with GOP super-majorities in both legislative chambers, his vetoes have been overridden more than any other governor in state history.
This is not the first time Schaefer’s arch-conservative actions have made national news. He has recently presided over a special senate committee on “the sanctity of life,” which has sought to jail Planned Parenthood employees for refusing to turn over documents containing patients’ private medical information. Last year, he attempted to block a University of Missouri grad student from researching the impact of abortion waiting periods. He also authored a bill to give state college and university clubs the right to discriminate against LGBT students. On Tuesday, the state ethics commission declined to investigate a series of allegations against Schaefer.
Update:
On Monday, the Missouri Senate passed the bill, on a 23 to 6 vote. It now moves to the Missouri House of Representatives.