Americans Who Don't Want To Be Murdered By A Handgun are screwed

A new report by the British newspaper The Guardian finds that there's been a huge increase in so-called "justifiable homicides" across America, thanks in part to the new ALEC-written Stand Your Ground – or shoot first – laws. Since Florida became the first state to pass a Stand Your Ground law back in 2005 – and was then followed by 20 other states passing similar laws – the number of so-called justifiable homicides across the nation has gone up 25%. The Stand Your Ground law is at the center of the controversy surrounding the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida – and is the main reason why the shooter, George Zimmerman, is still walking around as a free man. As Dan Gross – the President of the Brady Campaign - said about this new study, "This research demonstrates a fundamental point. Stand-your-ground laws are dangerous on their own as a mentality. But when combined with weak gun laws they become a recipe for tragedy." The number of justifiable homicides by police officers is also up across the nation – meaning cops are also adopting a shoot-first mentality. After a decade of Republicans and the military/police complex convincing Americans that we have to be scared to death of countless threats – too many of us have all gone crazy and are now shooting each other. It's time to return to our roots – as the home of the brave – not the home of the frightened and trigger-happy.