Feeling lucky, punk?

Byline: The Register-Guard

Florida's groundbreaking "Make My Day" law is catching on since taking effect last October. Fourteen more states have passed similar legislation expanding the right of crime victims to kill people in self-defense, and another eight appear ready to join the posse.

Actually, a person doesn't have to be much of a victim to blow someone away under these so-called "stand your ground" laws. There's no obligation to prove fear of imminent harm.

The National Rifle Association's legal wizards have taken all the guesswork out of killing someone who doesn't belong in your home or car. Bottom line: Just do it. Fire at will.

Florida's law and its various clones contain an automatic presumption that anyone who forcibly and illegally enters a home or a car is intent on threatening the lives of the people within. That presumption can't be countered with contrary evidence.

An inebriated next-door neighbor mistakenly stumbles through the wrong back door? Tough luck for him if the home is defended by the firm of Smith & Wesson. Case closed.

These laws also forbid the arrest, detention or prosecution of the "victims," or the filing of civil suits against them. Laws modeled after the Florida statute remove any requirement that citizens first seek a safe retreat from the threatening situation before resorting to deadly force.

The gun lobby has managed to give untrained, ordinary citizens "more rights to use deadly force than we give police officers, and with less review," said Paul Logli, president of the National District Attorneys Association.

In reality, the safety of snuggling up with a warm Glock 9mm and a bowl of popcorn leaves something to be desired. Research shows that the use of a firearm to resist a violent assault actually increases the victim's risk of injury and death.

A gun kept in the home is four times more likely to be involved in an unintentional shooting, seven times more likely to be used in a criminal assault or homicide, and 11 times more likely to be used to commit or attempt suicide, than to be used in self-defense.

Here's another heartwarming statistic the gun lobby neglects to mention in its efforts to arm America: The firearms-related death rate for children younger than 15 in the United States is nearly 12 times higher than that of the other 25 industrialized countries - combined.

Now, as the NRA pressures more states to copy Florida's bloodthirsty shoot-to-kill law, it's worth restating the core assumptions of such legislation: that human life is worth less than property or peace of mind; that unarmed burglars deserve the death penalty; and that within their own homes, citizens are free to be judge, jury and executioner.

Feeling safer yet?