The news article foresaw Trayvon Martins death: Opponents of the
law predict that more Florida residents will die needlessly in
more gun battles as people refuse to back away in
confrontations. The line is from a story that ran in The Kansas
City Star in 2007, when Kansas and Missouri were passing stand
your ground statutes. These are the shoot first, dare-you-to-
prove-it-wasnt-justified-later laws receiving scrutiny since
Trayvons death in Florida. His killer maintains he shot the
unarmed 17-year-old in self defense. Missouri and Kansas were
among many states caught up in a flurry of such legislation. The
Legal Community Against Violence ranks Kansas law and those of
24 other states equal in scope to the Florida law. The group
judges the laws in Missouri and six other states to be less far-
reaching. An additional five states have legislation pending,
according to Legal Community Against Violence. The laws turn
keep-the-peace standards on their head. Most laws seek to limit
the harm people do to others. Shoot