Introduction
Stand Your Ground laws are an expansion of a common law principle called the Castle Doctrine. This doctrine asserts that individuals have the right to use reasonable force—which includes use of deadly force, in some instances—to protect themselves against home intruders. The expansion of this principle into codified law gave rise to Stand Your Grounds laws.
In recent collective memory, Florida’s stand your ground law infamously made the news cycle in 2012, after George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin and was not arrested for murder because of Florida’s stand your ground law. Florida’s law states that a person does not have a duty to retreat, and they have the right to stand their ground if “he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death… or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Many states have variants of the stand your ground law, however. For instance, a majority of states have laws saying that there is no duty for a citizen to retreat from an area in which they’re lawfully present. Of those states, a handful of them explicitly mention that one has the right to stand his or her ground. Of those, an even smaller group of states permit the use of deadly force. In nearly half of the states, however, self-defense laws provide civil immunity for citizens in certain self-defense scenarios.
Learn more about states with stand your ground laws by exploring the data in the charts.
| State | Stand Your Ground Laws | Gun Deaths | Gun Death Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | No | 175 | 23.5 per 100k |
| Arizona | No | 1,265 | 16.7 per 100k |
| Arkansas | No | 673 | 22.6 per 100k |
| Connecticut | No | 219 | 6 per 100k |
| Delaware | No | 135 | 14.4 per 100k |
| District of Columbia | No | ||
| Hawaii | No | 50 | 3.4 per 100k |
| Indiana | No | 1,159 | 17.3 per 100k |
| Iowa | No | 351 | 11.2 per 100k |
| Maine | No | 153 | 10.4 per 100k |
| Maryland | No | 803 | 13.5 per 100k |
| Massachusetts | No | 268 | 3.7 per 100k |
| Michigan | No | 1,454 | 14.6 per 100k |
| Minnesota | No | 513 | 8.9 per 100k |
| Mississippi | No | 818 | 28.6 per 100k |
| Missouri | No | 1,426 | 23.9 per 100k |
| Montana | No | 238 | 20.9 per 100k |
| Nebraska | No | 197 | 10.1 per 100k |
| Nevada | No | 547 | 17 per 100k |
| New Hampshire | No | 128 | 8.9 per 100k |
| New Jersey | No | 443 | 5 per 100k |
| New York | No | 1,052 | 5.3 per 100k |
| North Carolina | No | 1,699 | 16 per 100k |
| North Dakota | No | 100 | 13.8 per 100k |
| Ohio | No | 1,764 | 15.2 per 100k |
| Rhode Island | No | 54 | 5.1 per 100k |
| South Dakota | No | 120 | 13.6 per 100k |
| Tennessee | No | 1,473 | 21.3 per 100k |
| Texas | No | 4,164 | 14.2 per 100k |
| Utah | No | 429 | 13.6 per 100k |
| West Virginia | No | 325 | 18.1 per 100k |
| Wisconsin | No | 717 | 12.2 per 100k |
| Wyoming | No | 154 | 25.9 per 100k |
| Alabama | Yes | 1,141 | 23.6 per 100k |
| California | Yes | 3,449 | 8.5 per 100k |
| Colorado | Yes | 922 | 15.4 per 100k |
| Florida | Yes | 3,041 | 13.7 per 100k |
| Georgia | Yes | 1,897 | 17.7 per 100k |
| Idaho | Yes | 321 | 17.6 per 100k |
| Illinois | Yes | 1,745 | 14.1 per 100k |
| Kansas | Yes | 494 | 16.9 per 100k |
| Kentucky | Yes | 902 | 20.1 per 100k |
| Louisiana | Yes | 1,183 | 26.3 per 100k |
| New Mexico | Yes | 479 | 22.7 per 100k |
| Oklahoma | Yes | 826 | 20.7 per 100k |
| Oregon | Yes | 592 | 13 per 100k |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | 1,752 | 13.6 per 100k |
| South Carolina | Yes | 1,131 | 22 per 100k |
| Vermont | Yes | 76 | 11.6 per 100k |
| Virginia | Yes | 1,174 | 13.4 per 100k |
| Washington | Yes | 864 | 10.9 per 100k |
Stand Your Ground Laws by State
Alabama
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,141
Ranked in the US
#16
23.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#5
Alaska
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
175
Ranked in the US
#41
23.5 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#6
Arizona
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,265
Ranked in the US
#12
16.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#20
Arkansas
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
673
Ranked in the US
#26
22.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#8
California
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
3,449
Ranked in the US
#2
8.5 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#44
Colorado
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
922
Ranked in the US
#19
15.4 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#22
Connecticut
Delaware
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
135
Ranked in the US
#44
14.4 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#25
District of Columbia
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
Florida
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
3,041
Ranked in the US
#3
13.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#29
Georgia
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,897
Ranked in the US
#4
17.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#15
Hawaii
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
Ranked in the US
#50
3.4 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#50
Idaho
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
321
Ranked in the US
#36
17.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#16
Illinois
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,745
Ranked in the US
#7
14.1 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#27
Indiana
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,159
Ranked in the US
#15
17.3 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#17
Iowa
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
351
Ranked in the US
#34
11.2 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#38
Kansas
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
494
Ranked in the US
#30
16.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#19
Kentucky
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
902
Ranked in the US
#20
20.1 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#13
Louisiana
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,183
Ranked in the US
#13
26.3 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#2
Maine
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
153
Ranked in the US
#43
10.4 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#40
Maryland
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
803
Ranked in the US
#24
13.5 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#33
Massachusetts
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
268
Ranked in the US
#37
3.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#49
Michigan
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,454
Ranked in the US
#10
14.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#24
Minnesota
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
513
Ranked in the US
#29
8.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#42
Mississippi
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
818
Ranked in the US
#23
28.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#1
Missouri
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,426
Ranked in the US
#11
23.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#4
Montana
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
238
Ranked in the US
#38
20.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#11
Nebraska
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
197
Ranked in the US
#40
10.1 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#41
Nevada
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
547
Ranked in the US
#28
17 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#18
New Hampshire
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
128
Ranked in the US
#45
8.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#43
New Jersey
New Mexico
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
479
Ranked in the US
#31
22.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#7
New York
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,052
Ranked in the US
#18
5.3 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#46
North Carolina
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,699
Ranked in the US
#8
16 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#21
North Dakota
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
100
Ranked in the US
#47
13.8 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#28
Ohio
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,764
Ranked in the US
#5
15.2 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#23
Oklahoma
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
826
Ranked in the US
#22
20.7 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#12
Oregon
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
592
Ranked in the US
#27
13 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#35
Pennsylvania
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,752
Ranked in the US
#6
13.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#30
Rhode Island
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
Ranked in the US
#49
5.1 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#47
South Carolina
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,131
Ranked in the US
#17
22 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#9
South Dakota
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
120
Ranked in the US
#46
13.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#31
Tennessee
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
1,473
Ranked in the US
#9
21.3 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#10
Texas
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
4,164
Ranked in the US
#1
14.2 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#26
Utah
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
429
Ranked in the US
#33
13.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#32
Vermont
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
Ranked in the US
#48
11.6 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#37
Virginia
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
1,174
Ranked in the US
#14
13.4 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#34
Washington
Stand Your Ground Laws
Yes
864
Ranked in the US
#21
10.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#39
West Virginia
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
325
Ranked in the US
#35
18.1 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#14
Wisconsin
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
717
Ranked in the US
#25
12.2 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#36
Wyoming
Stand Your Ground Laws
No
154
Ranked in the US
#42
25.9 per 100k
Ranked in the US
#3