Who Is Safer When We Criminalize Domestic Violence Survivors?
Tracy McCarter says she was acting in self-defense when she stood up to her estranged husband. Now she’s being charged with murder.
Americans have long debated the right to self-defense and who exactly gets to exercise it. The Second Amendment right to bear arms is at the heart of cases like George Zimmerman’s, who successfully argued he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and organizations like the National Rifle Association, the country’s leading pro-gun advocacy group. The right to self-defense underscores laws like “Stand Your Ground,” which allows people to use deadly force when they believe they’re in danger. And though this right seems indisputable no matter who you are, historically it’s been most successfully used to shield men, mainly white, from the consequences of their violent actions.