Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T09:59:40.834Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ORIGINATING STAND YOUR GROUND

Racial Violence and Neoliberal Reason

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2019

Marcus Lee
Marcus Lee*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science at The University of Chicago
*
*Corresponding author: Marcus Lee, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, Pick Hall, 5828 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637. E-mail: MarcusL3@UChicago.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Stand Your Ground law has come to emblematize contemporary racial injustice. Yet, the legitimacy of the statute endures, as more than thirty-three states maintain and enforce some version of Stand Your Ground. This article probes the legitimacy basis for Stand Your Ground by excavating and reconstructing its formative logic. Drawing on archival records of the Florida state legislature’s 2005 pioneering of the statute, I examine how lawmakers justified its introduction, design, and enactment. I find that proponents of Stand Your Ground framed it as a response to the cost impositions of criminal prosecution and civil action. In introducing Stand Your Ground, they sought to protect self-defensive actors against the burdens of administrative and judicial proceedings by granting them civil immunity. During the mark-up process, legislators held an extensive debate over the intended beneficiaries and victims of Stand Your Ground. Racial codes animated this debate: “drug dealers,” “gangs,” and “cop killers” represented the types of criminal subjects whom the legal protections of Stand Your Ground should exclude, while “violent criminals” in the “bad part of town” represented the intended objects of the statute’s authorization of deadly force. Ultimately, legislators translated the concerns raised during this debate into statutory design choices that baked race into Stand Your Ground.

Keywords

NeoliberalismRacial ViolenceGovernanceCriminalizationLawmakingPolitical Rationality
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , Spring 2019 , pp. 107 - 129
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ackerman, Nicole, Goodman, Melody S., Gilbert, Keon, Arroyo-Johnson, Cassandra, and Pagano, Marcello (2015). Race, Law, and Health: Examination of ‘Stand Your Ground’ and Defendant Convictions in Florida. Social Science & Medicine, 142: 194–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alpert, Geoffrey P., Dunham, Roger G., and Smith, Michael R. (2007). Investigating Racial Profiling by The Miami-Dade Police Department: A Multimethod Approach. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(1): 25–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvarez, Lizette (2017). Florida Poised to Strengthen ‘Stand Your Ground’ Defense. The New York Times, March 15. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/stand-your-ground-florida.html> (accessed March 15, 2017).Google Scholar
Anderson, Elijah (2013). Emmett and Trayvon. Washington Monthly. <https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/janfeb-2013/emmett-and-trayvon/> (accessed August 19, 2018).Google Scholar
Aubry, Jason (2017). Ohio Bill Would Allow Gun Owners to Shoot in Self-Defense Without Retreating. NBC4i.com (blog), May 30. <http://nbc4i.com/2017/05/30/ohio-bill-would-allow-gun-owners-to-shoot-in-self-defense-without-retreating/> (accessed June 23, 2017).Google Scholar
Botehlo, Greg (2012). What Happened the Night Trayvon Martin Died. CNN, May 23. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/justice/florida-teen-shooting-details/> (accessed March 9, 2017).Google Scholar
Bousquet, Steve (2012). Meet Dennis Baxley, The Lawmaker Who Always Stands His Ground. Tampa Bay Times, April 21. <http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/meet-dennis-baxley-the-lawmaker-who-always-stands-his-ground/1226327> (accessed March 9, 2017).Google Scholar
Brown, Wendy 2015 (2015). Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution. Brooklyn, New York: Zone Books.Google Scholar
Butz, Adam M., Fix, Michael P., and Mitchell, Joshua L. (2015). Policy Learning and the Diffusion of Stand-Your-Ground Laws. Politics & Policy, 43(3): 347–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catalfamo, Christine (2007). Stand Your Ground: Florida’s Castle Doctrine for the Twenty-First Century. Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy, 4(3): 504–545.Google Scholar
Cavazos, Ann Marie (2016). Unintended Lawlessness of Stand Your Ground: Justitia Fiat Coelum Ruat. Wayne Law Review, 61(2): 222–265.Google Scholar
Christensen, Dan (2005). NRA Uses Florida Gun Law as National Model. Yahoo News, May 17. <http://www.wmsa.net/legacy-wmsa/news/YahooNews/yn_051905_new_fl_gun_law.htm> (accessed March 20, 2016).Google Scholar
Cohen, Cathy J. (2012). Obama, Neoliberalism, and the 2012 Election. Souls, 14(1–2): 19–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coker, Donna (2014). ‘Stand Your Ground’ in Context: Race, Gender, and Politics. University of Miami Law Review, 68(4): 943–959.Google Scholar
Cusack, Joyce (2005). Florida House of Representatives Floor Debate.Google Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. ( 2011). Not in Our Lifetimes: The Future of Black Politics. Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, Michael C., and Francis, Megan Ming (2015). Black Politics and the Neoliberal Racial Order. Public Culture, 28(1): 23–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franks, Mary Anne (2014). Real Men Advance, Real Women Retreat: Stand Your Ground, Battered Women’s Syndrome, and Violence as Male Privilege. University of Miami Law Review, 68(4): 1099–1128.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin (2000). Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Goldsby, Jacqueline (2006). A Spectacular Secret: Lynching in American Life and Literature. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Goodman, Amy (2012). A Modern-Day Lynching: Outrage Grows over Killing of Trayvon Martin by Neighborhood Watch Patrol, March 20. <http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/20/a_modern_day_lynching_outrage_grows> (accessed March 20, 2016).+(accessed+March+20,+2016).>Google Scholar
Harvey, David (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Helmuth, Josh (2016). What Your Need to Know About Missouri’s New ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law. 41 KSHB Kansas City, September 15. <http://www.kshb.com/news/state/missouri/what-you-need-to-know-about-missouris-new-stand-your-ground-law> (accessed May 6, 2017).Google Scholar
Hinton, Elizabeth (2017). From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Cedric (Ed.) (2011). The Neoliberal Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, Late Capitalism, and the Remaking of New Orleans. Minneapolis, MN: University Of Minnesota Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingdon, John W. (2010). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, Update Edition, with an Epilogue on Health Care. Boston, MA: Pearson.Google Scholar
Kroll, Andy (2012). The Money Trail Behind Florida’s Notorious Gun Law. Mother Jones, March 29. <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/NRA-stand-your-ground-trayvon-martin> (accessed March 20, 2016).Google Scholar
Kyles, Kyra (2018). White Folks Have a New and Improved Lynching Law and They’re Calling It ‘Stand Your Ground.’ The Grio (blog), August 2. <https://thegrio.com/2018/08/02/white-folks-have-new-and-improved-lynching-law-and-theyre-calling-it-stand-your-ground/> (accessed August 19, 2018).Google Scholar
Langford, James (2018). Chubb Halts NRA Gun-User Coverage Branded as ‘murder Insurance’ by Critics. Washington Examiner, February 23. <https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/chubb-halts-nra-gun-user-coverage-branded-as-murder-insurance-by-critics> (accessed December 2, 2018).Google Scholar
Lave, Tamara Rice (2013). Shoot to Kill: A Critical Look at Stand Your Ground Laws. University of Miami Law Review, 67: 827–860.Google Scholar
Leo, Richard A., and Thomas, George C. III (Eds) (1999). The Miranda Debate: Law, Justice, and Policing. Boston, MA: Northeastern.Google Scholar
Light, Caroline (2017). Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Mendelberg, Tali (2001). The Race Card: Campaign Strategy, Implicit Messages, and the Norm of Equality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, Nicolaus (2013). A Longer Look at the Emmett Till-Trayvon Martin Comparison. Huffington Post (blog), July 17. <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicolaus-mills/emmett-till-trayvon-martin_b_3606636.html> (accessed August 19, 2018).Google Scholar
Montgomery, Ben (2012). Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Was Born of 2004 Case, But Story Has Been Distorted. Tampa Bay Times, April 14. <http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/floridas-stand-your-ground-law-was-born-of-2004-case-but-story-has-been/1225164> (accessed March 20, 2016).Google Scholar
Murakawa, Naomi (2014). The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
National Public Radio (2013). Examining the Foundation of “Stand Your Ground” Laws. <https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=204013757> (accessed March 20, 2016).+(accessed+March+20,+2016).>Google Scholar
National Rifle Association (2018). Lockton | NRA Carry Guard. <https://lockton.nracarryguard.com> (accessed August 7, 2018).+(accessed+August+7,+2018).>Google Scholar
O’Neil, Ann (2012). NRA’s Marion Hammer Stands Her Ground. CNN. <https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/15/us/marion-hammer-profile/index.html> (accessed March 20, 2016).Google Scholar
Peaden, Durrell (2004). Protection of Persons/Use of Force, Pub. L. No. SB 436.Google Scholar
Phillips, Kristine (2017). Iowa’s Most Expansive Gun Rights Bill Ever Is Now Law. Washington Post, April 18. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/04/12/iowa-lawmakers-passed-the-states-most-expansive-gun-rights-bill-ever/> (accessed May 6, 2017).Google Scholar
Prasad, Monica (2006). The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal Economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Roig-Franzia, Manuel (2005). Florida Gun Law to Expand Leeway for Self-Defense. Washington Post, April 26. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501553.html> (accessed March 20, 2016).Google Scholar
Rutl, Meredith (2012). Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Fired in Wake of Trayvon Martin Case. Miami Herald, June 20. <http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1940734.html> (accessed March 9, 2017).Google Scholar
CNN (2012). Sanford, Florida, Police Answer Questions About Teen’s Shooting Death. CNN, March 21. <http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/21/sanford-florida-police-answer-questions-about-teens-shooting-death/> (accessed March 9, 2017).+(accessed+March+9,+2017).>Google Scholar
Schneider, Anne, and Ingram, Helen (1993). Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy. The American Political Science Review, 87(2): 334–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shear, Michael D. (2012). Obama Speaks Out on Trayvon Martin Killing. The Caucus, March 23. <https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/obama-makes-first-comments-on-trayvon-martin-shooting/> (accessed March 10, 2017).Google Scholar
Soss, Joe, Fording, Richard C., and Schram, Sanford F. (2011). Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, Lester K. (2015). Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics. Brooklyn, New York: Punctum Books.Google Scholar
Spence, Lester K. (2013). The Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics. Souls, 14(3–4): 139–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, Williams L. (2018). A Magazine Ranked US States’ Gun Laws — and That Led to Legislation in Idaho Today. Idaho Statesman, Jan 31. <https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article197606409.html.> (accessed August 19, 2018).Google Scholar
Stone, Deborah A. (1989). Causal Stories and the Formation of Policy Agendas. Political Science Quarterly, 104(2): 281–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strausberg, Chinta (2018). PUSH VP Dr. Yeary Likens ‘Stand Your Ground Law to Lynching’ | Gary/Chicago Crusader. <https://chicagocrusader.com/push-vp-dr-yeary-likens-stand-your-ground-law-to-lynching/> (accessed August 19, 2018).+(accessed+August+19,+2018).>Google Scholar
Suk, Jeannie (2015). Self Defense Is Part of Our Heritage. The New York Times, November 18. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/21/do-stand-your-ground-laws-encourage-vigilantes/self-defense-is-part-of-our-heritage> (accessed March 4, 2017).Google Scholar
Tampa Bay Times (2012). Florida Lawmakers Played Fast and Loose for ‘Stand Your Ground.’ Tampa Bay Times, April 16. <http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/florida-lawmakers-played-fast-and-loose-for-stand-your-ground/1225366> (accessed March 20, 2016).+(accessed+March+20,+2016).>Google Scholar
Van Sant, Will (2004). Thieves Plunder in Charley’s Aftermath. St. Petersburg Times, August 16. <http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/16/Weather/Thieves_plunder_in_Ch.shtml> (accessed March 21, 2016).Google Scholar
Wacquant, Loïc (2009). Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner, Kevin M., Kim, Dukhong, and Hagler, Jeremy C. (2016). Stand Your Ground in Florida: The Effect of Race, Location and Weapons on Convictions. Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs, 5(1): 1–10.Google Scholar
Weaver, Vesla M. (2007). Frontlash: Race and the Development of Punitive Crime Policy. Studies in American Political Development, 21 (Fall): 230–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, Ida B. (Ed. by Royster, Jacqueline Jones) (1996). Southern Horrors and Other Writings: The Anti-Lynching Campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.Google Scholar
Williams, Leo V. (2013). From Lynchings to ‘Stand Your Ground’ Killing. Baltimore Sun. <http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-stand-ground-letter-20130725-story.html> (accessed August 19, 2018).Google Scholar
Zimring, Franklin E., Hawkins, Gordon, and Kamin, Sam (2003). Punishment and Democracy: Three Strikes and You’re Out in California. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar