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Stand Your Ground

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Stand Your Ground
Gerald Makey
SOC 205
Strayer University

The “Stand-your-ground law validates a person in using any physical force including deadly force, when they are not involved in illegal activity and is in a place where he or she has the right be, they have no obligation to haven and have the right to stand their ground. A quick breakdown of this law is that it give a person legal cover in the event that they find themselves in a certain situation in which their survival, or the preservation of their family necessitates them to stand their ground and use a weapon for defense. This law can be referenced back to the Supreme Court case Beard v. United States, 158 U.S. 550 (1895). It is defined in this case that, “A man assailed on his own grounds, without provocation, by a person armed with a deadly weapon and apparently seeking his life is not obliged to retreat, but may stand his ground and defend himself with such means as are within his control; and so long as there is no intent on his part to kill his antagonist, and no purpose of doing anything beyond what is necessary to save his own life, is not guilty of murder or manslaughter if death results to his antagonist from a blow given him under such circumstances (www.justia.com). In Houston, Texas a “Stand-your-ground” case has brought a lot of attention, but also a lot of controversy. In this case Raul Rodriguez was found guilty of killing his neighbor over a dispute over loud music. Rodriguez who was a retired firefighter got angry because of the loud noise coming from his neighbor’s house while they were having a birthday party. He confronted his

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