Stand your ground, Florida, we are watching.

We have heard so much in the media about the abuses of the castle doctrine (protection from home intruders) and stand your ground, but very little about the lives saved due to these forward-thinking laws.

We appreciate Florida's courageous decisions to provide recourse to law-abiding folks who simply need to protect themselves. As the Herald recently reported in the Feb. 21 editorial, abusers of these laws will find themselves behind bars (Michael Dunn and Curtis Reeves).

The system is working and probably does not need "tweaking." If it's not broken, don't fix it.

It would be helpful for we citizens to learn more about both the positive and negative effects of these laws. Crime seems to be on the upswing in our area and meeting violence with violence, though not a pleasant solution, certainly seems to be a better one than to have the innocent preyed upon by the guilty.

I believe Florida's laws have not brought "national shame," as mentioned in the editorial. In fact I believe quite the opposite. I believe that many in our nation appreciate Florida's position and would welcome similar steps in their home states.

William Bowman

Bradenton-Colchester, VT