Trayvon Martin Shooting Doesn't Slow 'Stand Your Ground' Bills

The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager, in Sanford, Fla., has brought critical attention to the "Stand Your Ground" laws in Florida and 20 other states.

Such laws are intended to protect victims who fight back in self-defense rather than retreating from their attackers, but some argue that the permission to use deadly force is overly broad. In Martin's case, it was among the reasons that his shooter, George Zimmerman, was not arrested.

Amid the controversy, legislators in other states, including Iowa and Illinois, are continuing to push forward similar bills.

"I understand it's a tragic case that happened in Florida. I wasn't there. The only two people who were there were the victim and the man who defended himself," Iowa Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, who sponsored a "Stand Your Ground" bill that died last year in the Iowa Senate, told the Sioux City Journal. "Nobody can tell you what happened besides those people. I think Iowans have a right to defend themselves where they have a right to be present. To require an Iowan to retreat when they feel threatened, I think, that's an asinine proposal."

Illinois Rep. Rich Morthland (R-Cordova), said that while the Martin killing was a tragedy, he intended to reintroduce a bill that failed to pass in the state last month.

"I support the lawfulness of using very strong force, if necessary deadly force, in self defense when you're off your property," he said, according to the Journal.

Alaska's Senate is currently considering a "Stand Your Ground" bill, and New Hampshire Republicans passed a similar law last fall over the veto of Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Pennsylvania's new Republican governor, Tom Corbett signed a "Stand Your Ground" bill last year after an earlier version was vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, also vetoed a bill this March, citing opposition by police and saying residents already had the right to defend themselves.

As The Washington Post points out, however, the bills, while often partisan, are not only championed by Republicans. Former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, both Democrats, signed two of the first "Stand Your Ground" bills in 2006.

Comments

[dblohangel]

11:22 AM on 03/29/2012

@schotts "I didn't play the race card. Troll. "

Just so you know your response indicates frustration. America is a racist country with a racist history. Despite the fact President Obama is our leader of choice the legacy of mistreatment of blacks is a difficult one to shake...because people like you are so steeped in racism you hardly recognize what you do as being racist. That is very unfortunate.

[dblohangel]

03:14 AM on 03/29/2012

GZ "thinks white" = influenced by the majority culture...The majority culture says straight hair, and Roman features are acceptable appearances...White is good black is bad...black is scary...be afraid of the black person...that's the influence GZ succumbed to...therefore I say with respect to blacks he's paranoid and thinks as some whites do about blacks...

[queckie1]

04:18 PM on 03/28/2012

Check this site for the REAL Trayvon Martin:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/the-daily-caller-obtains-trayvon-martins-tweets/#ixzz
He was the NO_LIMIT_NI**A

I hope huff post does NOT delete this comment, Everyone needs to read martins tweets from home and his school.. This kid was serious trouble. and, if I was obama, I think I would not want my son to look like martin.
martin tweets under the name. " NO-limit. Ni**ga"
very scary tweets he posts regarding woman and his school and people.
maybe this kid is not so "innocent"? maybe he actually did attack Mr.Zimmerman from behind???????

[dblohangel]

07:08 PM on 03/28/2012

@queckie1

Thanks for posting this article.The Sanford PD and its supporters have only had about a month to make up these stories. I guess y'all need more time to come up with some credible false evidence..

Angela Corey, Florida prosecutor/investigator seems to be in favor of slowing the wheels of justice...She ought to take a page out of the book of the Hillsborough County State Attorney...in the Dooley-Davis, Valrico, Florida, matter the shooter was arrested and charged within 48 hours...oh that's 'cause the shooter is a black man and the murdered man is white...never mind! l;=D

[Totto]

02:55 PM on 03/29/2012

Keep that attitude!

[queckie1]

04:44 PM on 03/29/2012

check out US dept of Justice Crime stats and you will find the total break down of race crimes across the USA. . lets not turn Mr Zimmerman into the next duke lacross case, the central park rape case, the crown heights murder case or the twyana brawly case, etc etc. America need to learn about the true nature of martin, just as we focused on Mark Furhman in the OJ case.

[starchildjg24]

12:47 AM on 04/14/2012

Unfortunately, your post is not accurate, those "tweets" were not Treyvon Martin's. That so many people believe everything they read on right wing, extremist sites is very depressing to me. Why are so many people determined to make Treyvon look evil? I can't remember ever a victim being so bashed and ridiculed and so many lies created. How did the death of this boy become a political agenda? All the people are horrified by this needless tragedy. It has nothing to do with politics.

[hagagaga]

03:25 PM on 03/28/2012

Why would it slow such bills? They do not protect Zimmerman. Racist, incompetent police officers protect Zimmerman.

[queckie1]

04:20 PM on 03/28/2012

Please read the tweets that this "innocent young man"posts, regarding raping women, his teachers, other kids in his class etc. Seems like this kid had serious problems. Sad that obama would won't his kid to look like martin

Check this site for the REAL Trayvon Martin:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/the-daily-caller-obtains-trayvon-martins-tweets/#ixzz
He was the NO_LIMIT_NI**A

[starchildjg24]

12:51 AM on 04/14/2012

You might as well go to Stormfront for your information. Such ugliness about a dead teenager just to serve your political agenda. Shame on you.

[Totto]

07:54 AM on 03/28/2012

Face It, Travon Martin Is Dead Because Many White People Fear Black People:
http://www.alternet.org/story/154723/face_it

[Michael Steaphens]

02:19 PM on 03/28/2012

No,he's dead because of a situation gone terribly wrong.Nice try blaming white people,wasn't even a white man that shot him.

[Trapster]

03:28 PM on 03/28/2012

Is it true that "Zimmerman" is listed as "white" on his birth certificate? It's what one considers ones self.

[dblohangel]

07:11 PM on 03/28/2012

He may not be physically white...or 100% white because of mixed heritage...his mentality is influenced by the culture...he thinks white.!

[schotts]

03:58 PM on 03/28/2012

And MANY, MANY white people don't make race an issue. Why are you?

[David Carson]

04:21 PM on 03/28/2012

because totto has nothing

[Totto]

05:55 PM on 03/28/2012

And MANY, MANY white people make it their life's work.

[rhinowife]

03:53 AM on 03/28/2012

I think Zimmerman chose to go after Trayvon because he knew that a kid would be an easy target. Zimmerman stalked Trayvon in his SUV while he was walking down the street not bothering anyone. My guess is that Trayvon was very scared once he realized he was being followed by a stranger. Maybe he did try to grab the gun from Zimmerman. I once worked in a room with a Schizophrenic woman hearing voices and waving a pair of scissors around. As each second ticked by she was getting more and more scared. You're damn right I would have tried to grab the scissors from her if she had gotten too close to me! Who wouldn't try to grab a gun or scissors from a wacko if they were about to be attacked?

Walking down the street used to be pleasant in most places in the state of Florida until Zimmerman came along. What will Zimmerman do next? Shoot little old ladies sitting on bus benches and then claim to the police that they tried to beat him with their walkers? And to think that Kenneth Star thought President Clinton was the ultimate slick willy. Getting away with murdering a child who was minding his own business while walking home after buying some candy... Well since the fact that he wasn't arrested on the spot defies all logic and comprehension, it appears that Zimmerman is the new winner. Sorry President Clinton.

[tall coolone]

10:49 AM on 03/28/2012

Murdering a child? C'mon now, explain to me precisely and coherently WHY this guy should have been arrested on the spot.

[dblohangel]

07:16 PM on 03/28/2012

@tall coolone...Duh! because his story didn't coincide with the facts at the time..

[queckie1]

04:23 PM on 03/28/2012

Check this site for the REAL Trayvon Martin:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/the-daily-caller-obtains-trayvon-martins-tweets/#ixzz
He was the NO_LIMIT_NI**A
Please read the tweets martin posted. this kid has serious problems. but, why obama would want his kid to look like martin, with martin tweeting that women are to be raped is beyond me.

[OdinsEye]

11:40 PM on 03/27/2012

Let's clear up a few misperceptions:

First, you ALWAYS have a right to self-defense if you reasonably believe it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to yourself or another person. This is the law in all 50 states. The SYG laws do not create this nor do they change the basic criteria under which force, including lethal force, can be used.

What SYG laws do is remove a duty to try to retreat before employing force. There is no reason why a person who is in a place they have a right to be and is not doing something unlawful should have to try retreat from a criminal.

Second, the SYG laws do not give a person immunity from prosecution. The only thing that the Florida law (in a different section, BTW) does is prevent an INITIAL arrest IF and ONLY IF there is no indication that the shooting is not lawful. It does NOT prevent police from arresting someone if there is evidence that the shooting might be unlawful. It does NOT prevent the investigation of the shooting or subsequent arrest of the sho.oter.

[OdinsEye]

12:00 AM on 03/28/2012

The key to all use of lethal force statutes regardless of if there is a duty to retreat or a stand your groundlaw is the reasonable perception of a threat of death are serious bodily harm to self or others.

Let's look at this.

First, the word "reasonable". In legal circles this is generally taken to mean that the average person would make the same evaluation.

The threat of death seems pretty clear, but in general it means that the "big three" are satisfied. Those are the 1) intent, 2) ability, and 3) opportunity to cause death. A guy with a knife on the other side of a ten foot fence saying he is going to kill you has shown the intent and has the ability (means), but he does not have the opportunity.

Serious bodily harm means something which could cause irreparable harm, maim, cripple, require long hospitalization, etc and includes rape. The "big three" of intent, ability, and opportunity apply here as well.

Again, these general rules apply regardless of an SYG law.

[Michael Steaphens]

02:20 PM on 03/28/2012

Very well said,O.E.

[Mailman]

09:15 PM on 03/27/2012

Didn't 40+ people get shot a couple of weeks ago in Chicago and 11 died including a 6 year old girl and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton never said a word. Oh yeah, they were shot and killed by blacks. Can't stir up a riot that way.

[dblohangel]

07:19 PM on 03/28/2012

@Mailman...get your life!

[Mailman]

09:20 PM on 03/28/2012

I forgot, the truth hurts.

[Jerry Bourbon]

08:54 PM on 03/27/2012

Freedom's inoxerable march continues.

And with it, the ever decreasing violent crime rate. Violent crime has gone DOWN in EVERY year since the ban on guns-that-kinda-look-like-real-military-selective fire-rifles was allowed to expire.

[schotts]

11:41 PM on 03/27/2012

Speaking of which, I would love to pick up an FN SCAR. Expensive and I bet on back order.

[OldSFMJT]

05:56 AM on 03/28/2012

SCAR Light(5.56X45) - available. SCAR Heavy(7.62X51) & its mags - big-time BO. Either way, bring an empty Visa or AmEx!

De Oppresso Liber
Old SF

[Michael Steaphens]

02:21 PM on 03/28/2012

Yeah,the nice ones are always expensive.I ate noodles for a while,but I got that PS-90 I've been wanting couple years ago!

[jcobmusic]

08:07 PM on 03/27/2012

Zimmerman had run ins with the police. He sounds like a person you would not like living next to you.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/24/142993/zimmerman-described-as-a-caring.html#storylink

[Jerry Bourbon]

08:55 PM on 03/27/2012

Trayvon had run ins with school authorities over drugs, graffitti, and burglary. He sounds like a person you would not like living next to you.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120504/Trayvon-Martin-case-He-suspended-times-caught-burglary-tool.html

[jcobmusic]

09:10 PM on 03/27/2012

You're right Jerry. I would not want to live next to a murdered kid.

[jcobmusic]

07:05 PM on 03/27/2012

My Favorite Post: Zimmerman is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He does not have to prove his innocence. It is the prosecutor's job to try and prove guilt, and the jury's job to find the defendant guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the evidence provided at trial.

My Favorite Response: Can I use the same "justice" on Zimmerman as he practiced as a root'n toot'n cowboy?

[Jerry Bourbon]

08:56 PM on 03/27/2012

No you can't. You CAN, however, use the same "innocent until proven otherwise" clause on him that is provided for in the United States Constitution.

Next question?

[Totto]

08:34 AM on 03/28/2012

The Sanford Police Department has made that impossible.

[jcobmusic]

06:54 PM on 03/27/2012

The new fashion in the United States. Kevlar body armor.

[eaglespark]

07:05 PM on 03/27/2012

"The new fashion in the United States. Kevlar body armor."

We have the same "castle/stand your ground" law here in Oregon, along with our concealed carry law, which dates from 1990. Considering that our gun-related crime and accident rates have gone steadily downward over the last 20 years, I see no reason to buy body armor.

[jcobmusic]

07:49 PM on 03/27/2012

You sound defensive. I have the freedom to buy Kevlar for me and my family. You have the freedom to carry a gun to be judge and jury. Knock yourself out. I'm sure you enjoy being a manly man with your gun.

[Totto]

07:58 AM on 03/28/2012

"We" do not. Not yet, and we will not.

[Jerry Bourbon]

08:58 PM on 03/27/2012

I am not sure why you would need Kevlar. The per capita violent crime rate in the United States has been on a steady decline ever since the "assault weapons' ban expired in 2004, and it has declined even MORE in Florida since the Stand Your Ground law was enacted in 2005.

But it is a free country. If you want to waste your money on Kevlar (and it is EXPENSIVE), have at it.

[rjj3642]

06:11 PM on 03/27/2012

When will Huffington post a contemporary photo of this innocent lad?

[jcobmusic]

06:26 PM on 03/27/2012

does a picture define a person?

[missingbush]

06:41 PM on 03/27/2012

Maybe it does: http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/the-daily-caller-obtains-trayvon-martins-tweets/#ixzz
The same as they keep showing "George" in what appears to be an orange jail jumpsuit!
Does gold teeth work better for you in an up dated pic of Trayvon?

[missingbush]

06:43 PM on 03/27/2012

Will they?
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/26/the-daily-caller-obtains-trayvon-martins-tweets/#ixzz
Probably not. F&F...

[jcobmusic]

06:52 PM on 03/27/2012

I'm glad you judge people by their picture.

[jcobmusic]

05:49 PM on 03/27/2012

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

I guess it is free and brave when you carry a gun. NRA has defined freedom in the "stand your ground" law.

[eaglespark]

07:08 PM on 03/27/2012

"I guess it is free and brave when you carry a gun."

I have no idea what you mean by that-- explain, please.

"NRA has defined freedom in the 'stand your ground' law."

Again, we got our concealed carry law here in Oregon in 1990, and we have the same kind of "castle/stand your ground" law that Florida has. How is that relevant to the NRA, or the definition of "freedom"?...

[jcobmusic]

07:46 PM on 03/27/2012

you've already drunk your NRA kool-aid... enjoy. It is sad that we have fear based freedom. The common citizen can be the judge and jury and murder. You love your gun and you love your ability to take life. Enjoy.

[Michael Steaphens]

02:28 PM on 03/28/2012

It IS free when the law abiding citizen can carry a gun!

[jcobmusic]

03:11 PM on 03/28/2012

you've already drunk your NRA kool-aid... enjoy. It is sad that we have fear based freedom. The common citizen can be the judge and jury and murder. You love your gun and you love your ability to take life. Enjoy.

[Cheshire13]

04:54 PM on 03/27/2012

The entire issue seems complicated, and there is lots of politics involved. It is true a citizen has the right to defend themselves, but in some states that right is severely limited because of restrictive (sometimes appropriately restrictive) weapons laws.

What is in the "stand your ground" laws which gives a citizen more rights than they have now? In Florida, it appears from the Trayvon Martin incident that the law restricts the investigation police are allowed to conduct. I am stunned at the cavalier manner in which Mr. Zimmerman was released. The police were reportedly saying there was no probable cause to arrest Mr. Zimmerman, so they had to release him. OK, I can accept that, but they didn't seem to collect any evidence from Mr. Zimmerman. Some commentators are saying the Florida Law prevented the police from pursuing any further investigation and that individual officers could be held personally liable if they had pursued the investigation.

If those two allegations are true, then the law is either wrongly interpreted or the law is just plain wrong.

The irony in this situation is that IF Mr. Zimmerman did have a valid and supportable claim of self-defense, the lack of an adequate investigation in now working against him. No evidence (his clothing) preserved; no photos taken. Those sure would come in handy now.