saying he/she felt threaten and acting in self-defense.

I personally find it repulsive.

When should a person be able to use deadly force to defend themselves? If a person attacks you and you shoot him, should he be able to sue you?

You don't like Florida's law, so what would you have as an alternative?

you cannot see the ill-logical bills like SYG which we as a country has seen time and time has been used to kill unarmed minorities than I don't know how to answer you. I feel these laws are wrong. and this bill is basically making murder legal.

Personally, I believe there needs to be a "reasonable person" standard used in applying the law. Just saying you felt threatened shouldn't cut it - there should be a reasonable basis for it. At the same time, the law should protect persons who have legitimately defended themselves.

No law is going to be perfect, but Im generally OK with Florida's law in principle, provided it's applied reasonably and fairly.

If a person had an irrational fear of bic pens, they couldn't shoot a guy on the bus with a pocket protector full and then claim that they were 'afraid'- that's a bit of a media-hyperbole that seems to have grown it's own legs.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0776/0776.html

The NRA and ALEC couldn't produce one example of someone who would have been saved prosecution for bonafide self-defense prior to the law. So they basically just pulled some BS scenarios completely out of their ass and wrote a law to prevent them.

> How about NOT allowing killing so easy. Basically someone can shoot a child in a halloween costume
> saying he/she felt threaten and acting in self-defense.

I can see how folks could be confused about the law if all they read is news reports about it.

you don't get to say 'oh yeah that's right I was standing my ground' and go free

Then you have to hire a lawyer and prove it was self defense in court? I don't think so.

Snip

"A new amendment that made its way into the final bill would also make secret all records from Stand Your Ground cases, meaning that the records would be sealed in cases where charges are later dropped, and those who are granted immunity would have their records expunged. But the law also means that media outlets seeking to document the impact of the law would not have access to any records."


1. Only pertains to dropped cases. So what of the convictions and acquittals? Can one just do the math. Is that oversimplification?

2. Immunity? Is that just fancy for 'immune' from double jeopardy? Point being are those the acquittals?

3. Shouldn't it kind of be this way in some respect. If someone is clearly found not guilty or the state drops, shouldn't this episode of a person's life be wiped away? Should it affect the rest of their professional an public lives?

Who knows percentages?

Buts it's hard to believe that across our criminal justice system; ditto for the soon to be third largest state in the union that only SYG laws for adults are sealed.

You?

You do know what this bill was in response to right?

Thank you for making the point that it isn't. Doesn't this address the case where a woman was convicted for firing a warning shot?

ETA: Didn't she have a restraining order against her ex and he was approaching the house. She was standing by the door and fired the warning shot. The Trayvon Martin case was still pretty high profile and I don't believe this case got much exposure.

Doesn't sound good for her.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2014/0448/BillText/e1/HTML

I am impressed that the article actually had a link to the bill.

Seriously, fuck this state.

a monopoly on "this country" as if there are no compassionate and just liberals representing America?

Of course the law only applies if you are white, and then you can actually be the aggressor and kill in cold blood. Just make sure that their are no witnesses (or that the witness is as racist as the shooter is)

Florida newspapers did the research: more blacks are acquitted via SYG than whites.

Are you familiar with statistics on ethnicity and SYG law in Florida?

Gov. PRick Scott, they could justify blowing him away if he was also carrying?

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/02/26/3332391/trayvon-martin-years/

"The law was unsuccessfully invoked in the shooting of a child as young as 9 years old."

Though rejected in the end, the fact that a court even considered SYG against a 9 year old shows how bad this law is.

http://www.tampabay.com/stand-your-ground-law/fatal-cases

No matter how stupid.

Have it show a tourist getting into an argument with a local who then says he's feeling threatened, draws a gun and fires. The tourists wife and young children watch with wide eyed horror.

Then in the local language put some variance of the following on the screen:

"This killing could be ruled justified under Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' statute with the killer escaping punishment.

If you value your life and your family's life DO NOT visit Florida."

Starve the state of it's bread and butter. If Floridians want loosey goosey gun laws, they can have all they want. At least they can gaze lovingly at their gun while waiting to hear back from unemployment.

I can't believe they passed such a law!

Let's suppose that I am walking through a parking lot. I am in a place that I have every right to be and I am not involved in any criminal activity.

An individual who is armed with a gun or a knife walks up to me and demands my money.

First let me say that if I seriously believe that all he wants is my wallet, I will simply give it to him. I can easily replace the money in the wallet, the credit cards and my ID. If I foolishly resist and fail, I might end up spending a long time in the hospital or people will give me a final visit in the funeral home before I get buried.

However I might have good reason to suspect that even if I turn over my money, my attacker will still try to seriously injure or kill me. Or perhaps even after I give him my wallet, he attacks. If so, I will do my best to stop his attack and survive. That may require me to use lethal force.

Why should I first have to try to retreat before I use my concealed handgun for self defense? That sounds like an excellent way to get stabbed or shot.

A concealed weapons instructor that I know used to teach his class that if they ever had to draw their weapon for self defense, "it better come out smoking."

Under current Florida law if you draw your weapon and do not shoot it, an overzealous prosecutor may argue that you really were not truly in fear for your life. Therefore If I draw my weapon I may be required to shoot my attacker but it is quite possible that he will break off his attack once he realizes that I am armed. I have no desire to shoot another person and if showing my weapon is enough to stop the attack, that's fine with me.

So I favor the part of the proposed improvements to the law that says that I should be allowed to show my weapon to stop an attack.

I am not as fond of the part that says I can fire a warning shot. If I fire my handgun in the air the bullet will come down somewhere and may endanger others. If I fire into the cement in the parking lot, the bullet may ricochet. I am responsible for every round I fire.

I also feel that if the authorities thoroughly investigate the incident and determine that what actions I took qualify as legitimate self defense, I should not have to face criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit which could bankrupt me.

In my opinion the Stand Your Ground Law in Florida was poorly written and this has allowed the law to be misinterpreted in a good number of cases. Hopefully the law will be rewritten so as to remove any ambiguities.

Perhaps I should point out that I have never been a Zimmerman supporter.

I would have never followed Martin had I been Zimmerman. I seriously doubt that I would have called the police but if I did and they told me not to approach Martin, I would have followed their instructions. Having a concealed weapons permit in Florida does not make me a cop and I definitely am not a vigilante. I realize that if you go looking for trouble, it will find you.

That's just.. nonsensical.

-- Homer Simpson