"Justifiable homicides" in Florida have increased from 43 the year the law was enacted to 105 in 2009. The law has been invoked in at least 93 cases in Florida involving 65 deaths, a 2010 St. Petersburg Times review found. Trayvon Martin is not even the first unarmed black teenager to be killed by a shooter using the "Stand Your Ground" defense. To read more stories about concealed handgun permit holders who shot unarmed Florida residents after the law was enacted, see the following articles by the Tampa Bay Times, New York Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, blogger J. David Goodman and Florida defense attorney Zachary Weaver.Now that's one stupid law, don't you think? Please leave a comment.
The bottom line is that prior to the "Stand Your Ground" law, if you were out in public in Florida and could avoid spilling blood by safely retreating from a conflict, you were required to do so by law. Now, hundreds of years of common law have been thrown out the window and the Seminole County grand jury will have to evaluate Zimmerman's actions through the lens of the NRA's new (and dangerous) statutes.
Debate Magazine
Huffington Post
