Poll: Racial divide on 'stand your ground'

In the wake of the George Zimmerman trial in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, Americans’ views on “stand your ground” laws split sharply along racial and political lines, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday.

Fifty-seven percent of white voters support the controversial self-defense laws, which garnered widespread national attention after Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in February 2012. Black voters, however, oppose the measures by the same percentage.

Overall, the poll of 1,468 registered voters showed 53 percent of Americans back the laws while 40 percent oppose them.

“With these kinds of numbers, it’s unlikely the movement to repeal 'stand your ground' laws will be successful in most of the country,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release.

With support from the National Rifle Association, Florida in 2005 became the first state to enact a so-called “stand your ground” law, which allows people to defend themselves with deadly force if they believe their life is in danger. Since then, more than 30 states have approved a version of the law, with assistance in crafting the measures based on model legislation by the controversial group American Legislative Exchange Council.

An ALEC spokesman contacted by Al Jazeera America had no comment on the poll and denied that the group played any role in crafting self-defense laws.

As might be expected, a majority of gun owners surveyed by Quinnipiac back self-defense laws: 67 percent expressed support for “stand your ground,” while 32 percent oppose it.

The poll, conducted from July 28 to 31, also highlighted disparities along partisan and gender lines. Seventy-five percent of Republican voters, for example, were in support of self-defense laws, while 62 percent of Democrats oppose them. A majority of independents – 57 percent – support the laws and 37 percent oppose them, the poll shows.

A majority of men, meanwhile, support the measures – 62 percent — while only 44 percent of women stand behind the laws.