Note to NYTimes: Stand Your Ground Isn’t for All Occasions

For years, the mainstream media blatantly misrepresented what it meant to “stand your ground.” They claimed that Stand Your Ground laws legalized murder. All you had to do was say you were afraid for your life, and that was that; you’d walk. I think they honestly believed that, too. They thought they knew what they knew and didn’t bother to do any more digging to see if they were accurate.

They weren’t.

Part of why I think they believed it is because of this piece from the New York Times about an incident in Wyoming.

When Rihanna Kelver goes on road trips or ventures out alone to photograph the rural night sky, she often packs a small teal handgun. Being a transgender woman in Wyoming is not easy, she said, but owning a gun sure seemed like it would be.

Then one night last September, Ms. Kelver, 28, drew her gun after she had been pushed down in the street during a brief confrontation with three men in the college town of Laramie, according to police reports and surveillance video. Wyoming’s “stand your ground” law is supposed to offer legal protections to gun owners who draw in self-defense, yet Ms. Kelver was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent, charges that carry up to 15 years in prison.

The case has touched off an impassioned debate in one of the country’s most gun-friendly, staunchly Republican states about whether the Second Amendment applies when the person holding the gun is transgender.

“I had to defend myself,” said Ms. Kelver, who transitioned as a high schooler in Laramie and has been an outspoken activist for trans rights. “I don’t know how it wasn’t reasonable, given the dangers and threats trans people hear every day.”

The county attorney in Laramie said gender and sexual orientation had played no part in his decision to prosecute the case, and a judge found there was enough evidence to take it to trial.

Ms. Kelver says she would not have been charged if she had been a biological female shoved to the ground by a group of men.

Wrong.

Michael Drejka was convicted of the murder of Markeis McGlockton in Clearwater, Florida, in 2018. Drejka got knocked on his butt, much like Kelver was. Drejka then drew his gun and fired, killing McGlockton. This was in Florida, a Stand Your Ground state.

See, the problem Kelver has here is in trying to claim a simple assault was a threat to life and limb, which is simply not supported by what we know of the incident.

Stand Your Ground laws allow people to use a firearm in self-defense or in the defense of others, but only when a reasonable person would believe their life was in danger. Someone who hears a pile of stories about how targeted trans people are and thinks that they have no choice but to pull a gun isn’t going to necessarily meet that level.

Now, it’s possible the individual who assaulted Kelver was closing in to do even more bodily harm, which might change things.

That doesn’t seem to be what happened, though.

Ms. Kelver said she had two shots at the bar, then went outside to smoke a cigarette before her shift at about 10 p.m. One man in a group of three shouted a profanity directed at the Crowbar, according to court records, and Ms. Kelver said that the man, Scott Durham, also yelled an anti-gay slur, though he denied that to the police.

Ms. Kelver, upset, walked up to the men and asked, “What did you just say?” according to police reports. Surveillance video from a downtown camera shows her walking into the street toward the men, one hand on her hip by the pack that held the gun. Seconds later, Mr. Durham pushed her away, and Ms. Kelver stumbled and fell onto her back.

The moment she hit the pavement, she drew and racked the gun and pointed it. She did not fire. The three men walked away, and Ms. Kelver got up and collected her belongings that had scattered in the street. The encounter was over in about 10 seconds.

It’s possible Kelver’s holster didn’t fit well, and that’s why the hand was there, but a more likely explanation is that Kelver got into that confrontation with the understanding that it could turn violent. It’s one thing to not have a duty to retreat, but it’s always dumb to approach a situation that could turn violent when you don’t have to.

Then we have that this was a push. It wasn’t even a punch. While it’s still assault, it’s a far cry from a threat to someone’s life.

And therein lies a key difference.

See, while the New York Times is screaming, “Why didn’t Kelver have the right to defend herself?” They’re missing the fact that Kelver’s life wasn’t in danger. Nothing that the Times’ own reporting on what’s in the video suggests any different. This was a simple, basic assault that should have resulted in the cops being called, and probably some community service for the guy, maybe a little jail time.

Stand Your Ground laws aren’t for every incident you encounter. Sometimes, you might get hit or pushed and you don’t have to like it. If you respond with an appropriate level of force, I’ll even back you on it.

This, however, wasn’t an appropriate level of force.

Suddenly, a slightly physical altercation became a lethal force incident, and based on what I know of the case, Kelver is going to lose those gun rights when all is said and done, because this crossed the line.

If only reporters educated themselves on when Stand Your Ground laws applied and what they actually said.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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