Holder Says: “Don’t Stand Your Ground. Run.”

Attorney General Eric Holder stood his ground at a meeting of the NAACP. He said that “stand your ground” laws are bad. He thinks black people, like all other people, should not carry a gun. They should not stand their ground when threatened. He said this.

Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods. (sustained applause)  These laws try to fix something that was never broken.  There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if – and the “if” is important – no safe retreat is available.

But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely.  By allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety.  The list of resulting tragedies is long and – unfortunately – has victimized too many who are innocent. It is our collective obligation – we must stand our ground – (applause) to ensure that our laws reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.

The liberals at the NAACP agree. They clapped.

The main victims of violence from gangs and thugs in the United States are residents of the inner cities. Here, police protection is minimal. Here, people either stand their ground or get run over by thugs.

But such talk, in Holder’s view, rejects common sense. There is no need for laws protecting victims of thugs and criminals when the victims defend themselves. The public should wait patiently for the police to intervene. Meanwhile, if they are upset with thugs, they can always run.

Problem: when you are facing an armed teenager, you probably can’t outrun him. Or maybe your wife can’t.

If you don’t want to carry a gun, maybe your wife will. Maybe she will stand her ground. You, of course, can do it Holder’s way. You can run.

The victims of this world need to know that they are not facing government prosecution if they stand their ground successfully. That’s what “stand your ground” laws do. They send a signal. “If a thug threatens you, and you persuade him to cease and desist — permanently — you will not go to jail. Probably. Maybe. Possibly. If you can afford a team of lawyers.”

Holder wants even this minimal declaration removed from the statute books.

Eric “Fast and Furious” Holder seeks to subsidize a growing franchise: “Thugs R Us.”

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