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Question Did the implementation of Floridas stand your ground self-defense law have an impact on homicide and homicide by firearm between 2005 and 2014?

Findings This study used an interrupted time series design to analyze changes in rates of homicide and firearm-related homicide. We found that the implementation of Floridas stand your ground law was associated with a 24.4% increase in homicide and a 31.6% increase in firearm-related homicide.

Meaning The removal of restrictions on when and where individuals can use lethal force was associated with a significant increase in homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida.

Importance In 2005, Florida amended its self-defense laws to provide legal immunity to individuals using lethal force in self-defense. The enactment of stand your ground laws in the United States has been controversial and their effect on rates of homicide and homicide by firearm is uncertain.

Objective To estimate the impact of Floridas stand your ground law on rates of homicide and homicide by firearm.

Design, Setting, and Participants Using an interrupted time series design, we analyzed monthly rates of homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida between 1999 and 2014. Data were collected from the Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) web portal at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We used seasonally adjusted segmented Poisson regression models to assess whether the onset of the law was associated with changes in the underlying trends for homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida. We also assessed the association using comparison states without stand your ground laws (New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia) and control outcomes (all suicides and suicides by firearm in Florida). October 1, 2005, the effective date of the law, was used to define homicides before and after the change.

Main Outcomes and Measures Monthly rates of homicide, firearm-related homicide, suicide, and suicide by firearm in Florida and the 4 comparison states.

Results Prior to the stand your ground law, the mean monthly homicide rate in Florida was 0.49 deaths per 100000 (mean monthly count, 81.93), and the rate of homicide by firearm was 0.29 deaths per 100000 (mean monthly count, 49.06). Both rates had an underlying trend of 0.1% decrease per month. After accounting for underlying trends, these results estimate that after the law took effect there was an abrupt and sustained increase in the monthly homicide rate of 24.4% (relative risk [RR], 1.24; 95%CI, 1.16-1.33) and in the rate of homicide by firearm of 31.6% (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.21-1.44). No evidence of change was found in the analyses of comparison states for either homicide (RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.98-1.13) or homicide by firearm (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.99-1.17). Furthermore, no changes were observed in control outcomes such as suicide (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.94-1.05) and suicide by firearm (RR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.91-1.06) in Florida between 2005 and 2014.

Conclusions and Relevance The implementation of Floridas stand your ground self-defense law was associated with a significant increase in homicides and homicides by firearm but no change in rates of suicide or suicide by firearm.

Throughout the United States the application of lethal force as a means of self-defense is governed by criminal law.1 Since the colonial era, it has been an individuals duty to retreat from perceived threats before resorting to any use of force. When force is unavoidable for self-defense, one must demonstrate that steps were taken to retreat first. The castle doctrine is an exception, granting individuals who encounter threats in their own home (ie, their castle) immunity when using lethal force.2 Since 2005, states across the United States have made changes to their self-defense laws, removing the duty to retreat and allowing the use of lethal force in situations (inside and outside the home) where an individual perceives a threat of harm.3

Stand your ground laws have been implemented in 23 states to date, with considerable debate about their potential impact on public health (Box).4-6 Advocates of the laws suggest that the increased threat of retaliatory violence deters would-be burglars, resulting in fewer intruder encounters.4 Critics are concerned that weakening the punitive consequences of using force may serve to escalate aggressive encounters.7 They also argue that these laws may exacerbate racial disparities in homicide where threats motivated by racial stereotypes produce unnecessary fatalities.2,7

Box.

Utah (1994)b

Florida (2005)

Alabama (2006)

Alaska (2006)

Arizona (2006)

Georgia (2006)

Indiana (2006)

Kansas (2006)

Kentucky (2006)

Louisiana (2006)

Michigan (2006)

Mississippi (2006)

Oklahoma (2006)

South Carolina (2006)

South Dakota (2006)

Tennessee (2007)

Texas (2007)

West Virginia (2008)

Montana (2009)

Nevada (2011)

New Hampshire (2011)

North Carolina (2011)

Pennsylvania (2011)

a Definitions of states that have enacted stand your ground laws were derived by cross-referencing several resources (eg, smartgunlaws.org and NRA.org) as well as recent publications.7,11,12

b Utah was the first state to pass a law that expanded a citizens right to use lethal force in public places. Florida was the first state to draft and pass a specific stand your ground law. The conditions of each law vary.

Few evaluations of the impact of stand your ground laws on homicide have been conducted. Evaluations of Arizonas and Texas stand your ground laws found no statistically significant impact on homicide.8,9 Several observational studies have assessed whether homicide rates are higher in states with stand your ground laws compared with states without. Using uniform crime reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 1 study that used a difference in differences design to examine changes in 20 states that enacted stand your ground laws between 2000 and 2010 compared with all nonparticipating states found an associated 8% increase in homicide.10 A study using US vital statistics data for the same time period, using comparable methods for the same states, found that the enactment was associated, on average, with a 7.1% increase in homicides.11 In 2016 a study by Gius,12 using uniform crime reports (FBI data) between 1995 and 2010, found no relationship between the enactment of stand your ground laws and either homicide or firearm homicide.

On April 26, 2005, Governor Jeb Bush signed Florida State Bill 436, enacting Floridas stand your ground law.3,13 The law increased the scope of self-defense claims by creating a no duty to retreat rule when individuals reasonably believed that force was necessary to prevent harm to themselves or others.2 The Florida law extended the no duty to retreat clause of the castle doctrine to public places. In addition, the law created a series of conditions to strengthen the rights of individuals claiming self defense, including extending no duty to retreat to situations where the defendant initiated a confrontation, extending the use of lethal force as a legitimate defense for the protection of private property (eg, to deter vehicle theft), entitling defendants to pretrial immunity hearings allowing judges to sanction immunity prior to jury trial, and providing defendants with immunity from any ensuing civil lawsuits.1,7

As the first state to implement a stand your ground law, Florida is an important test case about the removal of the duty to retreat principle. We used the years that have elapsed since the enactment of the Florida law as a natural experiment to assess its impact on rates of homicide and homicide by firearm.

We used an interrupted time series design to compare monthly rates of homicide in Florida before and after the stand your ground law came into effect on October 1, 2005. Interrupted time series designs use data that are collected over time, usually recorded at regular intervals (eg, months).14-17 These data are used to identify an underlying trend and when an intervention (eg, new law) occurs at a known time, postintervention trends can be examined for distinct changes from preexisting trendsthus serving as the counterfactual.18 This study design can be valuable in situations where retrospective evaluations of population level interventions are required.19,20

A potential limitation of interrupted time series designs is the possibility that other factors that occur simultaneously may distort estimates of intervention effects. Such factors might include national changes in social or economic variables (eg, a recession) or events that have a profound and lasting impact on society (eg, natural disasters). Additional design elements can be added to interrupted time series designs to assess whether such factors are influencing statistical estimates.14,15 We employed 2 such design features: analysis of homicide rates in 4 comparison states (New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia), and analysis of control outcomes (suicide and suicide by firearm).

These analyses help to rule out the possibility of misattributing any changes to causal factors unrelated to the intervention in question. From the 27 states that had not implemented stand your ground laws as of September 2016 only 4 had consistent monthly homicide data that could be used for analysis. The analyses of suicide and suicide by firearm tested for comparable intervention effects in variables that may be equally sensitive to social and economic trends, but that we did not hypothesize to be affected by the stand your ground law. If patterns in these analyses showed changes similar to those found in our analyses of homicide and homicide by firearm, it may be reasonable to assume that any estimated intervention effect was not attributable to the stand your ground law.14,15,20-22

We collected monthly totals of homicides and suicides (in total and for firearm-related cases) for Florida between January 1999 and December 2014. The data were accessed through the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) web portal.23 We classified cases by place of occurrence (within or outside the State of Florida), cause of death (homicide or suicide), mechanism (firearms or other means), and month of occurrence. We classified causes of death using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10).24

We extracted 4 monthly time series: (a) all homicide (ICD-10, X85 to Y09); (b) all suicide (ICD-10, X60 to X84); (c) homicide by firearm (ICD-10, X93-X95); and (d) suicide by firearm (ICD-10, X72-X74). Additional analyses were disaggregated by racial and ethnic grouping (white or African American), age group (0-19 years, 20-34 years, and 35 years), and sex (male or female) for all outcomes. Population denominators were calculated separately for each series using annual population estimates from the US Census Bureau.25 In total, each of these time series spanned 192 months (82 preintervention and 110 postintervention).

We evaluated whether postintervention trends in homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida differed significantly from preintervention trends. We used segmented quasi-Poisson regression analysis to analyze trends in both periods and estimate an effect size taking underlying trends into account. Recent technical tutorials provide a detailed explanation of these models.18,26 Time series analyses may be confounded by seasonal effects that generate stable highs and lows in data trends. To account for this we applied seasonal models, using harmonic terms that control for seasonal influences.18,19,27 Owing to the time sequencing of data points used in time series analysis, residual autocorrelation can lead to the violation of regression assumptions. Where significant residual autocorrelation was detected (P<.10) and the assumptions of the general linear models became problematic, robust standard errors were generated (using a sandwich estimator) to produce more conservative estimates of uncertainty.28

Owing to the nature of the interventiona legal change fixed at 1 point in timewe hypothesized the potential impact of Floridas stand your ground law as an immediate and permanent change.18 Analysis was repeated for comparison states without stand your ground laws to test the validity of any effects observed for Florida. The comparison between Florida and other states was tested statistically by including an interaction term in a single model including intervention and comparison states. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed using rates of suicide and firearm suicide as a control outcome for both Florida and comparison states. This was done to assess specific biases that may have resulted from the onset of the 2008 economic crisis in the United States, which could potentially effect homicide rates indirectly.29 We chose suicide because recent research shows a significant association between suicide and the onset of the 2008 financial crises and subsequent austerity policies.19,30,31

Stratified analysis was conducted to investigate whether the stand your ground law may have had a distributional impact on race and ethnicity, age group, and sex in Florida. Where large numbers of data points were missing or suppressed owing to small cell counts (eg, <10 cases per month), we could not analyze certain population groups separately. This included: Hispanic populations (all analyses); children and adolescents (19 years); African American populations (suicide and suicide by firearm); and females (homicide). Thus, analyses for these groups are not reported. All data analysis was conducted in R statistical software (version 3.1.2; RStudio, Inc) using RStudio (version 0.99.486; RStudio Inc). Statistical significance was taken as P<.05.

Between 1999 and October 2005, Florida had a mean monthly homicide count of 81.93, a homicide rate of 0.49 deaths per 100000 population and a mean monthly homicide by firearm count of 49.06, a homicide by firearm rate of 0.29 deaths per 100000 population, with 59.1% of all homicides resulting from firearm injuries. There was a slight decline in monthly rates of homicide and homicide by firearm over this period. In the 9 years following the implementation of the stand your ground law, both rates increased with a mean monthly count of 99.22 and 69.29, respectively (homicide, 0.53 deaths per 100000 population; homicide by firearm, 0.37 deaths per 100000 population; 69.8% of homicides by firearm) (Table 1). After accounting for underlying trends, we estimated a 24.4% (RR, 1.24; 95% CI; 1.16-1.33; P<.001) increase in the postintervention monthly homicide rate when compared with preintervention trends. For homicide by firearm the findings were similar, with an estimated 31.6% (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.21-1.44; P<.001) increase in postintervention monthly homicides by firearm when compared with preintervention trends. Figure 1A displays the magnitude of these effects for homicide and Figure 1B shows homicide by firearm in relation to trends in the comparison states.

We compared these findings with comparison states to test whether such increases in patterns of homicide and homicide by firearm were present in states unexposed to changes in self-defense laws. We found no significant changes in postintervention homicide rates in the comparison states when compared with preintervention trends (RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.98-1.13). Interaction models comparing Florida and the comparison states found a significant difference between intervention effects (RR, 1.24 vs RR, 1.06; P<.001).

For homicide by firearm rates, we found no significant changes in postintervention firearm homicide when compared with preintervention trends in control states (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.99-1.17). A formal test of difference between Florida and comparison states found a significant difference in the patterns of homicide by firearm after the Florida law took effect (RR, 1.32 vs RR, 1.08; P<.001).

Analyses of suicide and suicide by firearms in Florida following the enactment of the law showed no evidence of effects comparable to those for homicide and homicide by firearm. Prior to the implementation of the law, the mean monthly suicide rate in Florida was 1.13 per 100000 (mean monthly count 188.30) vs after the law took effect, with 1.23 deaths per 100000 and a mean monthly count of 232.50 (relative risk, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.94-1.05; P=.97). These findings help rule out the possibility that our estimates may have been confounded by other social or economic trends (eg, the 2008 economic recession) that may have had an impact on the patterns of homicide.

Stratified analyses for Florida found that the increases in homicide affected all demographic groups, but that the magnitude of effects was distributed unevenly across the population (Table 2). Comparing preintervention and postintervention trends, the onset of the stand your ground law was associated with significant increases in homicide for whites (28.7%) (Figure 2B); African Americans (20.4%); those aged 20 to 34 years (31.7%) (Figure 2A); those 35 years or older (13.8%); males (28.1%); and females (13.5%). Similar patterns were observed when comparing preintervention and postintervention trends for homicide by firearm in Florida (Table 2). These findings suggested a statistically significant increase in homicide by firearm for whites (45.1%) (Figure 2B); African Americans (22.9%); those 20 to 34 years (35.8%) (Figure 2A); those 35 years and older (21.5%); and males (31.8%). For suicide and suicide by firearm, we found no significant differences before and after the law took effect.

Since Floridas stand your ground law took effect in October 2005, rates of homicide and homicide by firearm in the state have significantly increased; through 2014, monthly rates of homicide increased by 24.4% and monthly rates of homicide by firearm by 31.6%. These increases appear to have occurred despite a general decline in homicide in the United States since the early 1990s.32 In contrast, rates of homicide and homicide by firearm did not increase in states without a stand your ground law (New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia), or for either suicide or suicide by firearm. Our findings support the hypothesis that increases in the homicide and homicide by firearm rates in Florida are related to the stand your ground law. We found increases in homicide and homicide by firearm in Florida in all the demographic groupings we examined; the largest proportional increases were in those aged 20 to 34 years and among whites.

The increases in homicide and firearm homicide we report are greater than those reported elsewherewhere increases in homicide were estimated to be less than 10%.10,11 These differences may reflect differences in the stand your ground laws between states (the other studies were not of Floridas law), and differences in sociodemographic and cultural factors, as well as firearm and other laws.

Our study has limitations. Circumstances unique to Florida may have contributed to our findings, including those that we could not identify. We did not compare the impact of stand your ground laws across states; such analyses are susceptible to biases owing to differences in regulatory contexts and events or other factors that influence homicide and firearm homicide rates but that are unique to a particular state. Finally, there has been considerable debate over the potential of the Florida law to deter crime and improve public safety.30,31 Our study examined the effect of the Florida law on homicide and homicide by firearm, not on crime and public safety. We also did not study the effects on firearm injuries other than homicide or suicide.

The enactment of Floridas stand your ground law in 2005 has been associated with abrupt and sustained increases in homicide and homicide by firearm in the state.

Corresponding Author: David K. Humphreys, PhD, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, England (david.humphreys@spi.ox.ac.uk).

Accepted for Publication: September 16, 2016.

Published Online: November 14, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.6811

Author Contributions: Drs Humphreys and Wiebe had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the analysis.

Concept and design: All authors.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.

Drafting of the manuscript: Humphreys, Wiebe.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: All authors.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Humphreys.

Study supervision: Wiebe.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Shoot First: Stand Your Ground Laws and Their Effect on Violent Crime and the Criminal Justice System. National Urban League; 2013. https://everytownresearch.org/reports/shoot-first/. Accessed February 15, 2016.

Florida Code. Senate Bill 436. 776.013; 2005.

Cook TD, Campbell DT. Quasi-Experimentation: Design & Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co; 1979.

Shadish WR, Cook TD, Campbell DT. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co; 2002.

McDowall D, McCleary R, Meidinger EE, Hay RA. Interrupted Time-Series Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Beverly Hills; 1980.

McCleary R, Hay R, Meidinger EE, McDowall D, Land KC. Applied Time Series Analysis for the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Beverly Hills; 1980.

Pinker S. The Better Angels of Our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity. London: Penguin; 2012.

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Impact of Floridas Stand Your Ground Self-defense Law ...

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Florida's "stand your ground" law is being tested again after a 28-year-old father was mortally wounded in front of his young children following an argument with another man over a handicapped parking space.

The State Attorney's Office is expected to review the case and make the final decision on whether it falls within the claim of self-defense under a law that first gained prominence in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. State prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Surveillance video taken from the Circle A convenience store in Clearwater last Thursday showed Markeis McGlockton, his girlfriend Britany Jacobs and their three young children pulling into a handicapped spot. McGlockton ran into the store with their 5-year-old son.

A man in a light-colored hat later identified as Michael Drejka, 47 went up to the car, and he and Jacobs got into a spat.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference Friday that the two were arguing over whether Jacobs could be in that parking space.

As Jacobs stepped out of the car, McGlockton came out of the store and shoved Drejka to the ground. In response, Drejka pulled a gun out of his pocket.

Drejka could be seen firing at McGlockton as the young father stepped away. McGlockton was wounded in the chest, and ran back into the store, where surveillance footage from inside showed him falling to the ground in front of his 5-year-old.

McGlockton later died at the hospital.

Gualtieri said that the video does appear to show Drejka protecting himself, so his agency does not have an authority to make an arrest "unless we have probable cause that the person committed a crime."

"Markeis should not have gone up and slammed this guy to the ground. Markeis wouldn't be dead if Markeis didnt slam this guy to the ground," Gualtieri added. "So Markeis has got skin in this game, too. And the reason why it makes it justified, and within the framework of 'stand your ground,' is because of what Markeis did."

He said that it will fall on the state to determine whether Drejka was "not entitled to use force in this circumstance."

The sheriff, however, said the circumstances surrounding the shooting were not clear-cut.

"There is a pause even if it's only for a couple seconds there is a pause between the time Drejka hits the ground and he shoots. That pause gives me pause," Gualtieri said. "That pause gives me some concern. And it goes back to what I said when I opened: just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

McGlocktons father, Michael, said that his son was just standing up for a family he adored.

"Markeis was a good man he was all about his kids," Michael McGlockton said in an interview with NBC News on Monday. "He wasnt out there looking for trouble, but he would stand up for his family and thats exactly what he did. As a man, if you see someone confronting someone that you love, what are you gonna do? Youre gonna run to their defense. Youre gonna try to protect them."

Michele Rayner, a lawyer representing the dead man's family, added that Drejka was so close to Jacobs car door that she would have hit him had she opened it.

"So would he have shot her then?" Rayner said. "If anyone was really standing their ground or defending someone, Mr. McGlockton was defending his family.

Drejka could not be reached for comment Friday.

Another Circle A customer, Rick Kelly, told NBC affiliate WFLA that he encountered Drejka in a similar situation a couple of months ago. Kelly said he had pulled into that same handicap spot and Drejka began inspecting his decals to see if he had the right to be there. The situation escalated.

"He was basically threatening to shoot me that day," Kelly said.

And in 2012, Tyler Smith, 18, accused a driver later identified as Drejka of hanging a gun outside of his truck window during a road rage incident in Palm Harbor, northwest of Tampa, according to law enforcement documents obtained by NBC News.

Smith, whose account was corroborated by his passenger, told a Pinellas County sheriffs deputy that Drejka began yelling and honking at him when he stopped at a yellow traffic light, the documents say.

Smith said Drejka then dangled a black handgun from his drivers side window and placed two magazines on his trucks dashboard. After Drejka followed the car, the passenger told the deputy, Smith called the sheriffs office to report him though he didnt want to press charges, according to the documents.

During an interview with deputies, Drejka said hed yelled at Smith and honked his horn after the car cut him off, the documents say. Drejka denied following the vehicle or displaying a Glock that he kept in his trucks center console.

No charges were filed in the case and the documents say Drejkas concealed weapons license was valid.

Related

Dozens of protesters marched on Sunday and held a vigil for McGlockton as Jacobs called for justice.

"He was a great man, and you know, he didn't do nothing wrong," Jacobs said, according to WFLA. "He was just trying to protect us."

At least 24 states have some form of a "stand your ground" law, with Florida's enacted in 2005 with the help of gun lobbyists.

Since then, Floridians have been able to justify using deadly force in order to "prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." Florida goes the extra step of not requiring the gun owner to first try to flee from danger before pulling the trigger.

In legal cases, the defense had been required to prove a case of "stand your ground" until last year, when it was changed to put the burden of proof on the prosecution.

This change could leave prosecutors with a "very tricky case" if they pursue charges in McGlockton's killing, said NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst Daniel Goldman.

"But I think there is a real possibility that the state attorney general will look at this and [say]...'You know what, it shouldn't be our decision as prosecutors to say whether or not this was a proper use of stand your ground law,'" Goldman said. "We have a jury of peers in this country for a reason. Let's present this to the jury and let them decide."

Related

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, had claimed self-defense when he fatally shot Martin, a 17-year-old high school student who had been walking through the gated community.

Zimmerman was later charged with murder, but acquitted. His attorneys did not use "stand your ground" as a defense at trial, but the law still became a flash point as part of a larger national conversation.

The law was again invoked in Florida in 2014, when a 71-year-old retired Tampa police captain fatally shot a 43-year-old man inside a movie theater after the two got into an argument. A trial in the case is scheduled for next February.

The race of McGlockton, who was black, has added another element in the case as protesters on Sunday held signs demanding the "racist" law be repealed.

Shevrin Jones, a black Democratic state lawmaker in Broward County, tweeted Sunday that McGlockton's death "should give a clear sign that Florida need(s) to take a look and make changes to Stand Your Ground."

Across the country, "stand your ground" laws haven't proven to curb crime and are fraught with "racial imbalance," said David Harris, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and host of the podcast "Criminal Injustice."

A 2015 study in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that a person charged in such cases is twice as likely to be convicted of a crime if they killed a white victim as opposed to a minority.

In the McGlockton case, the surveillance video helps to shed some light on what occurred, Harris said, but it's "not an open and shut" justification for deadly force simply because Drejka had been pushed to the ground.

Still, if prosecutors decide to charge Drejka, they will face a "heavy pretrial burden" to prove he wasn't acting in self-defense, Harris said.

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Florida's 'stand your ground' law under scrutiny after ...

USA Today NetworkWTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. Published 8:45 a.m. ET July 23, 2018 | Updated 10:39 a.m. ET July 23, 2018

A recent decision not to charge a man who shot and killed another man in a convenience store parking lot because of Floridas stand your ground law prompted protests. USA TODAY

An argument over a handicapped parking spot turned fatal at a Florida convenience store last week. The man who fired the shot will not face charges, because of Florida's "stand your ground" law.(Photo: WilliamBunce, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

CLEARWATER, Fla. A recent decision not to charge a man who shot and killed another man ina convenience store parking lotbecause of Floridas stand your ground law prompted protest Sunday night.

Protesters gathered at the Circle A store on Sunset Point in Clearwater the scene of the shooting to express their frustration on how the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office handled the case.

It all started when Markeis McGlockton's girlfriend drove into a parking spot while he walked into the Circle A store.

During a press conference Friday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri mentioned that a regular customer of the convenience store was frustrated when he saw McGlockton's girlfriend illegally parked in the handicapped spot.

The customer and the girlfriend started yelling at each other after the customer complained to her about parking there, according to deputies.

Another customer went inside to tell the manager about a disturbance outside. McGlockton walked outside and shoved the customer to the ground.

While on the ground, the man shot and hit McGlockton in the chest. McGlokton was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Britany Jacobs, McGlockton's girlfriend, told Good Morning America the couple's 5-year-old son also witnessed the shooting.

More: Video reveals how 'racial incident,' deadly shooting at Pennsylvania bar unfolded

More: Toronto shooting rampage claims second victim; 12 wounded, gunman dead

The man who shot him is being cooperative with deputies and told them he was fearful for his life.

"After being slammed to the ground, he felt he was going to be further attacked," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

More than 20 states have "stand your ground" laws, which generally allow the use of lethal force for self-defense without the duty of trying to escape. "Stand your ground" allows a person to use deadly force if they think they're about to face, "imminent death or great bodily harm." The law has been criticizedby parents of slain black teens Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin.

Protesters say the circumstances of the incident shouldn't categorize it as a "stand your ground" case.Hundreds called for an arrest in the case.

More: Florida man faked his murder using a gun and a weather balloon

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Stand your ground: No charges for Florida man in parking ...

Floridas controversial self-defense law is in the news again.

The killing of Markeis McGlockton, a 28-year-old who was shot by another man after the two argued over a parking space on Thursday, is just the most recent in a long succession of controversies over the law commonly known as "stand your ground." Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced his office wouldnt charge McGlocktons killer, 47-year-old Michael Drejka, on Friday.

Heres a look back into the Tampa Bay Times archive for five times "stand your ground," which exempts from prosecution those who use deadly force to protect themselves if they fear for their lives, has made news.

From the archives: Stand your ground law protects those who go far beyond that point

1. The 2012 death of Trayvon Martin

In perhaps the most famous "stand your ground" case ever, George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter after killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

BACK STORY: George Zimmerman found not guilty in Trayvon Martins death.

On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman called the police on Martin, who was walking through his neighborhood, because he suspected Martin may have been connected to a string of local burglaries. Martin, who noticed Zimmerman following him, began to run away from the neighborhood watch volunteer. Police told Zimmerman he didnt have to pursue Martin, but Zimmerman did anyway, according to contemporaneous news media reports

of the 911 call placed by Zimmerman. The two eventually got into an altercation which left Martin dead.

Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. He claimed self defense under Floridas broad "stand your ground" law, citing injuries he sustained during the confrontation, and in 2013, he was acquitted. Martins death and Zimmermans acquittal sparked national protests and helped give rise to the national Black Lives Matter movement.

2. The 2014 Pasco County movie theater shooting

On Jan. 13, 2014, Curtis Reeves, a retired Tampa police captain took exception to a fellow moviegoers cell phone use during previews at a Wesley Chapel movie theater. He asked the man, Chad Oulson, to turn off the phone, and the two began to argue. Oulson threw a bag of popcorn at Reeves. Reeves responded by shooting Oulson in the chest, killing him.

BACK STORY: Appeals court denies challenge to stand your ground ruling in Pasco theater shooting.

Reeves has tried to claim self defense under the "stand your ground" law, but he has thus far been unsuccessful. In May, an appeals court denied his challenge to a 2017 ruling that he was not exempt from prosecution under the law. A trial date for Reeves has been set for Feb. 25, 2019. However, it is unknown to what extent recent changes to the "stand your ground law" passed by the Florida Legislature could affect Reeves case.

MORE ON THE CHANGE HERE: Florida lawmakers changed stand your ground law. Chaos followed.

3. The case that started it all in 2004

Florida lawmakers cited the case of James Workman, 77, when they called for a change to existing criminal law in 2004. Workman shot and killed Rodney Cox, 35, after Cox entered his home in the middle of the night of Nov. 2. Legislators bemoaned the fact that Workman had to spend almost three months in legal purgatory before authorities announced he would not be charged in Coxs killing.

"Youre entitled to protect your castle," Durell Peaden, a Republican state senator who sponsored the "stand your ground" law, said in 2005. "Why should you have to hire a lawyer to say, This guy is innocent?"

However, as a 2012 Tampa Bay Times story notes, the facts of the case were not as simple as lawmakers presented them. Workman never hired a lawyer. Cox did not interact with Workman until after Workman walked outside to confront the man lurking in his yard. And it was only after Workman fired a warning shot into the ground that Cox, who was likely intoxicated at the time of the incident, entered Workmans home, per the 2012 story.

BACK STORY: Floridas stand your ground law was born of 2004 case, but story has been distorted.

According to that story, the Workmans felt conflicted about the National Rifle Association-backed law their case spawned. "We didnt ask for any of this," Workmans wife, Kathryn, told the Times. And Workman said in 2005 he was "kind of in favor of" the law, but he "can see some pitfalls if you make it too loose.

4. Tampa man kills father of three in 2015; calls stand your ground hotline

In the early hours of Sept. 19, 2015, Nick Julian IV made two important phone calls. The first was a 911 call to report that he had shot an unarmed man who he claimed attacked him. The second was to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, which at the time offered inexpensive legal counsel for members who found themselves in Julians predicament.

Julian, 26, had been arguing with Carlos Garcia, 37, for several minutes because of the loud music coming from Garcias car. Julian confronted Garcia about the music several times, and eventually the incident became violent. According to the shooters father, Garcia chased after Julian before Julian shot him.

"He came at me with something. I dont know what it was because it was dark, but I started to go towards my door, once he got me towards my screen door, I just, I had no choice, I, Im on my property" Julian told a police dispatcher in a 911 call.

BACK STORY: Tampa man shoots father of three, then calls stand your ground hotline.

Two months after the shooting, Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober said he would not press charges against Julian.

5. Thursday.

Markeis McGlockton, 28, had exited a car parked in a handicap spot outside the Circle A Food Store on Sunset Point Road near Clearwater. He went into the story to buy chips and drinks, leaving his girlfriend and two of their children, ages four months and three years, in the car. He took his 5-year-old with him into the store.

THE LATEST CASE: No arrest in fatal shooting during argument over handicap parking space.

Michael Drejka, 47, a man with a reported history of taking exception to illegal parking at that store, confronted McGlocktons girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, after searching the outside of the car for proof that it could occupy a handicapped space.

A video taken of the incident showed McGlockton exiting the store and shoving Drejka to the ground. Drejka then pulled out a handgun and shot McGlockton in the chest. He owned the gun legally and had a concealed carry permit, Gualtieri said.

Friday, the sheriff announced Drejkas actions met the legal definition of self defense.

Times staff writer Kirby Wilson can be reached at [emailprotected] Follow @KirbyWTweets.

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Five times Floridas stand your ground law sparked ...

An argument over a handicapped parking spot at a convenience store in Florida led to a fatal shooting and the man who pulled the trigger wont be arrested under the states stand your ground self-defense law, authorities said.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told reporters during a Friday press conference that Thursdays shooting death of Markeis McGlockton, a 28-year-old father of three, is within the bookends of stand your ground and within the bookends of force being justified, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Im not saying I agree with it, but I dont make that call, Gualtieri told reporters, adding that his agency will now forward the case to the State Attorneys Office for a final decision.

Surveillance video obtained by The Post shows McGlockton walking up to Michael Drejka, 47, who was arguing with McGlocktons girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, 24, over a handicapped parking spot at the Circle A Food store on Sunset Point Road in Clearwater on Thursday.

Detectives from the sheriffs office said Jacobs had parked her 2016 Chrysler 2000 in a handicapped spot without a permit, leading to the argument with Drejka that prompted a witness to alert a clerk inside.

Thats when McGlockton, who is black, exited the store and approached Drejka, shoving him violently to the ground with both hands, surveillance video shows. While still on the ground, Drejka, who is white, then pulled out a gun and shot McGlockton, firing a single round that struck him in the chest, deputies said.

The young father then staggered back into the store and collapsed in front of the couples 5-year-old son, who is named after McGlockton, Jacobs told the Tampa Bay Times. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Hes not too good, Jacobs said of the boy. It comes and goes, but he knows [McGlockton] is dead.

Prior to Gualtieris announcement Friday, Jacobs told the newspaper that McGlockton died from a wrongful death as a result of Drejkas actions.

Its a wrongful death, she told the newspaper earlier Friday. Its messed up. Markeis is a good man He was just protecting us, you know? And it hurts so bad.

The couple had been together since 2009 after meeting at Dunedin High School, Jacobs said. The certified nursing assistant told the newspaper she parked in the handicap spot because the parking lot was packed. Surveillance video, however, showed several open parking spaces in front of the store prior to the deadly shooting.

The couples two other children a 4-month-old and a 3-year-old were inside the car with Jacobs, she said. She is now in the process of hiring a lawyer to determine her options and next move, she told the Tampa Bay Times, adding that she wants justice on McGlocktons behalf.

Hes getting out like hes a police officer or something, and hes approaching me, she said. I minded my own business I didnt do anything wrong.

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Stand your ground law protects shooter in deadly fight over ...