Stand your ground Nevada

Whether it’s called Stand Your Ground or Castle Doctrine, one thing is the same across the country; these laws are being looked into in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting. The Martin case drew national attention for most of March and April and seemed to divide the country along two lines. On one side, you had the belief that Zimmerman murdered Martin and, of course, the other side that believed Martin acted in self-defense. Whether Zimmerman is guilty or innocent isn’t the topic of this article, that’s for a Florida court to decide, the topic of this article is the law that appears to be at the root of this case. The basis of the Castle/Stand Your Ground Law is rooted in the natural right of self-defense. Every person has a right to protect themselves and many states laws have been written to reinforce that natural right Nevada is no different. In fact, Nevada has had a stand your ground law for 140 years. Nevada didn’t wait until after the Trayvon Martin shooting to look at its law, last year Nevada clarified the meaning of stand your ground to include a person doesn’t not have to retreat as far as possible before using force to stop an aggressor, as long as the person was not the original aggressor. Nevada not only has a strong self-defense law, it also has favorable gun laws. Nevada is one of about dozen states that allow for unlicensed open carry on your person and in your vehicle and has a preemptive law that won’t allow any county or locality to pass a gun law stricter than state law. Nevada also has eased concealed carry laws. Anyone who can legally possess a handgun can obtain a license to carry concealed, all it takes is to qualify on the range and an instructional course and a few pages of paperwork. It’s nice to see Nevada work for the residents, it protects their Second Amendment rights and openly supports the right of its residents to defend themselves against an aggressor. Nevada not only allows for residents to protect themselves, but also allows for the protection of other individuals in your vicinity. Nevada law doesn’t require a person to retreat until they are backed into a corner to defend themselves and it is not limited to being on your property, but you can legally defend yourself any place you have a legal right to be. Please check my examiner article here for links.