How do the laws of self-defense impact fear, culture and instinct?
Trigger Warning: Graphic descriptions of gun violence
Picture this: it's Easter weekend and I'm sitting around at my aunt and uncle's with my family. The conversation is flowing and all of the sudden we're chatting about a distant relative of a close family friend that was killed back in 1994. Wait, what? Okay, so the conversation moves onto that story and all of the sudden we're talking about how a business man was shot after a night of drinking. It started when a 28 year-old Andrew De Vries was in Houston on a business trip with his colleague, Sydney Graves, 42 (New York Times, 1994). The two met a couple during their night out and decided to go back to the couple's home. But, on the way back, Andrew, in a drunken state, thought that he was being taken in the wrong direction and decided to jump out of the car. Sydney followed and watched as Andrew began to ring doorbells because he hoped that someone in a home would be able to call a cab for him. "After ringing the front doorbell twice at a home on Warrenton Drive, Mr. De Vries went into the backyard, the police said. "The homeowrner saw two men at the back fence"" (New York Times). After, Sydney and Andrew climbed the back fence and began to knock on the back door. This startled the homeowner and he shot a pistol three times through the door. Andrew died at that moment but Sydney was unharmed.
Credit: New York Times, 1994
As you can imagine, this was quite an interesting conversation. How could something like this happen? Then, the chat blossoms into the overall idea of 'why is gun control the way it is in the United States?' Opinions are thrown around like no one's listening and the main agreement is 'what the fuck?' Okay, yes, some in the group blessed Canada for having strict gun legislation and others nodded their head to the idea of being able to defend themselves, but, we all agreed that this death was unreasonable and avoidable. The conversation soon drifted to something else and hours later we're stuffing ourselves with turkey and mashed potatoes and even cranberry sauce. The case mostly drifted out of my mind, but a little piece of it made itself at home in the back of my brain. Marinating into something else. Into this.
Then, a week or so later I'm back at the University of Ottawa and I'm concentrating on scrolling on my phone. Like the proud political science student I am, I follow many media and news outlets on Instagram. I suddenly see my feed being absorbed by the developing story of Ralph Yarl. The headlines were nearly flashing through my phone as words like 'teenage boy', 'shot' and 'critical condition' made up my whole page. It's overwhelming and confusing. What actually happened to Ralph?
Ralph Yarl
Credit: CTV News
Ralph Yarl, a 16 year-old boy from Missouri, was on his way to pick up two of his younger siblings on April 13, 2023. But, when he knocked on the door of the wrong house, he was shot in the head. "The homeowner opened fire through locked glass door without any words exchanged because he thought the teen was trying to break in" (CNN, 2023). After Ralph dropped to the ground, the man shot him again. Ralph was able to run to a nearyby house to receive help. Although Ralph has amazingly made a recovery, this is reflective of a bigger issue.
There has also been questioning of the motivation behind this as some believe that Ralph was shot due to his race. The man that shot him, Andrew Lester, is a 85 -year-old white man who was not charged immediately after the incident. The attorney for the Yarl family stated "Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin" (CBS News, 2023). Some civil rights groups are encouraging a hate crime charge, but "Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher level crime with the longer possible sentence of up to a life term" (CBS News). There have been comments over how the police have treated this case as well because they could have detained Andrew for 24 hours after the shooting, but only did for 2.
This story has developed over the past week or so and more information regarding the case against Andrew Lester will fill the newspaper for the next few weeks or even months. People will continue to praise and protest for Ralph Yarl, who only accidentally knocked on the wrong door. I can not even explain how unnecessary this situation was. Not only this, it also has left Ralph in a traumatic state. His mother has recounted that ""You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again. And that just doesn't stop my tears either, because you see your kid just sits there and constantly he just - tears are rolling down both sides of his eyes, there's nothing you can say to him" (CBS News). Not was this situation terrible, Ralph now has to deal with the trauma that he faced, only at 16-years-old.
This has been one of the only cases that I truly feel invested in and was relieved to find out that Ralph was okay after his injuries. I can't even imagine how terrifying that situation would have been for him and his family. I hope that Ralph is able to be okay after this. He deserves it and everything.
Then, I'm on my Instagram a few days later and another article pops up, the headlines saying that a woman was killed in New York state when a friend of hers was driving the car and pulled into the wrong driveway. Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed in the evening of April 15. Similarly to the case of Ralph Yarl, Kaylin and three other people were in a vehicle and accidentally drove into the wrong driveway. They hadn't even left the car or tried to knock on the door. Everyone stayed in the vehicle the whole time but the homeowner, Kevin Monahan, opened fire at the vehicle. It was found that the shotgun that Kevin used was a 12-gauge shotgun, which is usually used to hunt big game. "The friends drove away from the house and attempted to call for help in a nearby town, but Ms Gillis was pronounced dead by paramedics" (BBC News, 2023).
Kaylin Gillis
Credit: People
After the incident, Kevin barricaded himself in his house with the weapon. The suspect will remain in jail without bail. He is charged with second-degree murder and faced a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted (BBC News). Kaylin was an aspiring marine biologist and was described to be a "Kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her" (CNN, 2023). Her family is grieving her death as they have now lost a sister and a daughter. Kevin has failed to show any remorse and he deserves every, long second of his sentence.
None of this is necessary.
Then, a few days later, another post pops up on my Instagram. The incident, which happened just after midnight on April 18 in Texas, resulted in two teenagers being shot in a parking lot. It started in a grocery store parking lot when Heather Roth thought that she was getting into her friend's car with her other three friends. But, the car belonged to Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, who was sitting in the passenger seat. She started to say sorry but then Pedro "Threw up his hands, pulled out a gun and began to shoot" (Washington Post, 2023). The four girls then fled in their car and drove a few miles down the road. This is when they realized that Payton Washington, 18, was throwing up blood and soon called 911. Heather also was shot, the bullet leaving a graze wound on her leg.
Payton Washington and Heather Roth
Credit: Microsoft Start ("Mother of cheerleader shot alongside friend reveals their car was left 'riddled in bullet holes'")
Payton Washington is stable in the ICU. "She suffered damage to multiple organs, had her spleen removed and is expected to undergo more surgeries this week" (NPR, 2023).
As I was doing research for this piece, I found another recent case that I was unaware about, involving a 6-year-old boy and his father. The situation began on April 18 in North Carolina when kids were playing basketball outside. The ball rolled into the shooter's yard, Robert Singletary, 24, and he yelled at the children who went to receive it (CNN, 2023). After this happened, one of the children's father went to Robert's house and "Said something to the effect of "stop cussing my kid out, if you got a problem come to me and we can work it out," according to three neighbours" (CNN). Then, Robert walked into his home and returned back outside with a gun and opened fire. He wounded a 6-year-old girl (she was hit in the cheek), her mother was grazed by a bullet on her elbow and her father was shot in the back. "He is currently in a Charlotte hospital with a punctured lung and liver problems" (WBTV, 2023). After the shooting, Singletary fled the scene and was later found and is now in custody in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Kinsley White, 6
Credit: CNN News ("Suspect who allededly shot 6-year-old neighbour and her parents in North Carolina has been apprehended in Florida")
I think that these patterns are a reflection of many different aspects of the culture of the United States. Firstly, there needs to be more understanding of the Stand Your Ground laws and other related self-defense laws, specifically in the United States. "The Castle Doctrine is a common law doctrine stating that an individual has no duty to retreat when in his or her home, or 'castle,' and may use reasonable force, including deadly force, to defend his or her property, person or another" (The Castle Doctrine and Stand-Your-Ground Law, 2012). But, if one feels threatened outside of their home, you must retreat before using violence. But, the stand your ground law means that there is no obligation to stand down when feeling threatened.
Although I personally agree with the idea of stand your ground to a certain extent (that you should be able to defend yourself), I think the issue with the previously described situations is that the first instinct of many people (specifically in the United States) is to shoot before trying to understand the situation. This is especially highlighted in the case of Heather Roth, one of the cheerleaders, who was in the middle of apologizing to the man as he started to shoot. Why is shooting engrained to be the first action that someone makes instead of trying to resort to other options? Although I do understand why shooting first in some situations where there is an obvious threat would be maybe the better way to deal with the threat, but in that case it was completely unnecessary.
Credit: Vox ("America is one of 6 countries that make up more than half of gun deaths worldwide")
The confusing aspect of stand your law is that "The standard for the right to use such force is "when one experiences what a 'reasonable person' would consider a threat, even if the person could safely retreat from the perceived danger"" (Psychology Today, 2021). But, I might think that I was not in danger in a situation and didn't need to use any force or a weapon, but you could read the situation differently and could have used force. That's where perception and different personalities makes these stories tricky.
To go even farther with this, I think that this is a cycle. When reading the news, there are so many of these situations that it's hard to count or even remember them all. I find they all blend into one situation in my head. But, seeing this all the time creates a mainset of fear in many people's minds. "Although gun ownership is associated with positive feelings about firearms within 'gun culture,' most research comparing gun owners to non-gun owners suggests that ownership is rooted in fear...Research has likewise shown that the decision to obtain a firearm is largely motivated by the past victimization and/or fears of future victimization" (The Psychology of Guns: Risk, Fear and Motivated Reasoning, 2019). This means that if someone were to be involved in an attack that involved shooting, they would be more likely to obtain a gun after their experience. I think it can also be assumed that even if someone wasn't involved in an attack, they would be more likely to obtain a gun after hearing or reading stories regarding gun violence. This creates a cycle where gun violence encourages more people to purchase a gun, which increases the likelihood of more violence. When does this cycle end or how could it be stopped?
Credit: The Daily Banter ("After Santa Barbara, america should take a long hard look at its gun culture")
Another element of these stories that I think is interesting is the culture of the United States and the fear that is rooted deep in the minds of Americans. At the start of this piece, I mentioned a family friend's relative had been shot. The interesting thing about his story is that he was on a business trip from Scotland. To be honest, I don't really know much about gun regulation in Scotland, but "Over the past several years, England, Scotland and Wales combined have seen around 30 gun deaths a year. By comparison, according to the CDC, the number of murders involving firearms in the United States [alone] in 2020 was 19, 384" (NPR, 2022). Considering this information, it can be assumed that Andrew De Vries was unaware or not thinking about the differences regarding the culture of gun control in Scotland compared to the United States. Although he was not sober, his comfort that he probably had in his home country was probably very different from what citizens of the United States have. For example, if Andrew was instead from the States, he might have not approached a house in that manner, or not at all.
With this, it's also important to point out how the fear of gun violence in the United States affects the aftermath of the attack. After Ralph Yarl was shot, he went to other houses to try and receive help after he was shot in the eye and arm. An article by CBS News details an interview that shows the perspective of a homeowner who's door Ralph knocked at. Zac Dovel and his mother thought that the banging at their door was someone trying to break in, so they called 911. "The operator advised them not to answer the door due to reports of a gunshot in the area. But after seeing Yarl's condition, Dovel and his mother decided to go out to him" (CBS News, 2023). It's scary to think that this fear was caused by the pattern of high gun violence and that there was not a first instinct to help Ralph. Although I understand in this situation that there could be fear that the homeowners were being broke into, there are other accounts (like near-by homeowner, James Lynch who raced outside to help Ralph after hearing his screams) of hearing Ralph call out for help. Is this fear of helping others caused by the culture of gun violence in America?
The overarching idea of this post is that there needs to be some kind of change. Although I think changes around the instinct (due to fear) that Americans have could be a helpful option, this has to start with some level of gun control. Because that is a whole other conversation, I won't dip into any points about that in this post. I think that there needs to be more awareness about these stories so that change can happen. If no change happens, more people get hurt like Andrew, Ralph, Kaylin, Heather, Payton and the family in Florida. These injuries, even deaths, don't need to happen. The only thing that needs to happen is reform.
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