Sharpton, parents of Trayvon Martin to march against Stand Your Ground

[Redfairen]

Source: Tallahassee Democrat

The Rev. Al Sharpton, radio host Tom Joyner and the parents of slain teenagers Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis are coming to Tallahassee on Monday to take part in a march and rally against Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Also participating are family members of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy whose killing in 1955 helped spark the civil rights movement, and Tallahassee attorneys Ben Crump and Daryl Parks, who represent Trayvon’s family.

Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, will lead the march starting at 9:30 a.m. from the Civic Center to the Capitol, where the rally will be held.



Read more: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20140305/NEWS/140305009/The-Rev-Al-Sharpton-Martin-family-hold-Stand-Your-Ground-rally

[billh58]

1. K&R

The more light that is shown on these obscene SYG laws, the quicker they will be repealed.

[spin]

3. There's very little chance that SYG will be repealed in Florida. ...

Florida voters support the state's "stand your ground" law 57 - 36 percent, virtually unchanged in 12 months of Quinnipiac University surveys.
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/florida/release-detail?ReleaseID=1910

Further down in the survey on items of interest to Florida you will find a breakdown of support for Florida's SYG law. It shows SYG has the support of 38% of Democrats interviewed.

I have some hope the law will be rewritten to eliminate some of the problems the original wording has created in the legal system. Most likely the SYG law will be expanded to allow warning shots and the display of a firearm to deter an attack.

On a positive note the survey shows strong support for expanded background checks on the sale of firearms.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Why would they repeal it?

Gunning down suspicious-looking minorities without cause or reason is a longtime tradition in southern 'heritage'...

[spin]

7. The media would have you believe that SYG incidents are an everyday occurrence ...

in Florida.

The Tampa Bay Times published an excellent article on Stand Your Ground that is periodically updated. http://www.tampabay.com/stand-your-ground-law/ From the article:

Critics say "stand your ground" turned Florida into the Wild West. Supporters say it has helped keep innocents out of jail. The truth of how the law has been used over the past six years was unknown until now.
What follows is the most comprehensive list of "stand your ground" cases ever created. Browse by victim or defendant, by fatal or nonfatal cases. Hover over a photo to explore the basics of each case or click it for a more detailed case file. Use the buttons at right to filter by race, sex and location.

Using the interactive features in this web article you can find out an amazing amount of information that was gathered by the newspaper.

For example you can discover that there have been 29 cases in that six year time frame that involved a white person claiming self defense or SYG against either a black or Hispanic individual. Seventeen resulted in a fatality. However there were 28 cases when a black or Hispanic person claimed they were attacked by a white individual and used legitimate self defense or stood their ground. Fifteen of those resulted in a fatality.

You rarely hear this report mentioned by the main stream media or the ultra-conservative outlets. The report is very critical of the SYG law as written but the number of incidents is not all that large when you consider that over 1,000,000 Florida residents currently have a valid concealed weapons permit. Consequently the article doesn't serve the agenda of either the gun control advocates or the gun rights groups.

[Blue_Tires]

8. I'm not just referring to Florida

And the "media" doesn't have to "have me believe" anything I can see with my own eyes...

I'm black and I live in the south -- I don't need you to tell me the score, like I don't already know...

FWIW, this has to be like the fiftieth time you've posted that cherry-picked study like it's supposed to make me feel safer or something... Why don't you e-mail that fucking study to Trayvon's parents already? I'm sure they will feel much better after reading it...

[spin]

9. I personally felt Zimmerman should have been convicted. ...

Consequently I have great compassion for Trayvon Martin's family. I feel it is quite possible that Trayvon was approached by the "cop wannabe" Zimmerman who tried to intimidate him. Zimmerman might have flashed his concealed weapon to gain leverage and if so Trayvon had good reason to fear for his life and it could be argued that he was standing his ground. (Currently it's against the law to flash your legally concealed weapon to intimidate another person in Florida.)

However you suggest that I "cherry picked" the study Unfortunately there are no other studies that I know of that cover the SYG incidents in such depth. The overall tone of the article paints the SYG law in a VERY negative light. For example:

Uneven application, shocking outcomes

A Tampa Bay Times investigation has found that Florida's "stand your ground" law is being used in ways never imagined — to free gang members involved in shootouts, drug dealers beefing with clients and people who shot their victims in the back.
http://www.tampabay.com/stand-your-ground-law/

I believe that data and the case histories in this study could be effectively used by those who oppose SYG to help force the Florida legislature to rewrite the law.

I understand you and many others who post here favor the total repeal of SYG laws across this nation and I have no problems with that. However, I will point out that this effort will likely fail as SYG laws are popular. Since the chances of repealing them are about the same as passing another assault weapons ban at the national level, I suggest that a better approach is to force such laws to be rewritten so they function as they were basically designed.

But you may chose to do your best to get these laws overturned. If that effort is an overreach as I suspect, in the end your efforts will accomplish nothing. Wouldn't it be better to improve the laws rather than end up with a total loss?

[csziggy]

2. Excellent

Wish I could go!

[Cha]

5. K!

[alp227]

6. Warning: Do not read comments section nt