Missouri gun homicide rate spiked after Stand Your Ground law enacted, new study finds

Missouri is among a handful of states that experienced the highest spikes in gun homicides following the passage of a Stand Your Ground law, according to a new study analyzing how self-defense laws have led to more violent deaths in the U.S.

Those laws are associated with more homicides overall, as well as specifically more firearm homicides, the study, conducted by researchers at Oxford University, University of Pennsylvania and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found.

The researchers found an 8% to 11% national increase in monthly gun homicide rates for states with Stand Your Ground laws. They examined homicide rates for 41 states — 23 with Stand Your Ground laws and 18 without — from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2017.

Missouri was one of five states that had the largest increase of firearm homicides following passage of Stand Your Ground, the study found. Those increases ranged from 16% to 33% in Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana during the 16-year period.

“This cohort study found that the staggered adoption of [Stand Your Ground] laws in US states was associated with increases in homicide and firearm homicide rates across the U.S.,” The study said in the conclusion. “While no states had significant reductions in violent deaths, as advocates often argue when justifying these laws. The accumulation of evidence established in this and other studies point to harmful outcomes associated with [Stand Your Ground] laws.”

Missouri passed Stand Your Ground in 2016 as a part of a wide-ranging and controversial gun bill. The laws allows a person to use deadly force in self-defense rather than retreat when faced with a threat to their life. In the same bill, lawmakers also removed the requirement to obtain a permit to carry concealed weapons.

During the current legislative session, Missouri lawmakers proposed expanding the state’s Stand Your Ground law. The bill, which prosecutors called the “Make Murder Legal Act,” would have granted a shooter more latitude if they claimed to kill someone out of self-defense.

Currently, shooting suspects are required to prove a self-defense claim to prosecutors. Under the bill, suspects would be granted a “presumption of reasonableness” and granted immunity from prosecution.

The measure was voted down two weeks ago by a Missouri Senate committee.

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 1:47 PM.