does nj have a stand your ground law
A widely reported 2016 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared homicide rates in Florida following the passage of its ``stand your ground'' self-defense law to the rates in four control states, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia, which have no similar laws. It found that the law was associated with a 24.4% increase in homicide and a 31.6% increase in firearm-related homicide, but no change in rates of suicide or suicide by firearm, between 2005 and 2014. It noted that, ``(c)ircumstances unique to Florida may have contributed to our findings, including those that we could not identify,'' and ``(o)ur study examined the effect of the Florida law on homicide and homicide by firearm, not on crime and public safety''. The study was criticized by gun rights advocate John Lott's Crime Prevention Research Center for studying only one state. Gun enthusiast and attorney Andrew Branca, writing in National Review, criticized the study for not distinguishing between justifiable homicides and murder, and for relying solely on statutory laws while overlooking case law (i.e. Virginia) in determining the data set. The study was praised by Duke University professor Jeffrey Swanson for its use of other states as controls, saying ``(t)hey look at comparable trends in states that didn't pass the law and don't see the effect.''
Stand-your-ground law