From the Left
In the wake of the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has received increased scrutiny. The law – also referred to as a “Shoot First” law – gives a person more legal latitude, if they decide to use lethal force rather than retreat, when physically threatened.
There are a few things I wish to say about such measures, which are not limited merely to Florida but have been enacted in more than 20 other states with, curiously, almost the very same wording, which I will address later.
Guns are not in and of themselves evil, and I am not against gun ownership per se – though I see very little justification in owning automatic weapons or other heavy weaponry – nor am I against the use of protective force when defending yourself or your family from real danger and threats.
Nevertheless, the burden of proof for the necessity of violence – let alone lethal force – is very high and always requires sufficient justification from its perpetrator.
For example, shooting someone who jumped your fence and began swimming in your pool late at night is not sufficient justification, though, your property it may be. But someone breaking into your house and threatening your wife or husband is something else.
In the case of George Zimmerman, Trayvon’s shooter, he was explicitly told not to pursue Trayvon by the 911 dispatcher. He claims he shot Trayvon in self-defense, even though he was the one following Trayvon.
If Trayvon really did attack Zimmerman, he must’ve equally thought he was acting in self-defense. Can one really instigate a confrontation and then claim self-defense when they begin to lose the fight?
It is because of laws such as Stand Your Ground that Florida prosecutors waited nearly 45 days to charge Zimmerman with Trayvon’s murder.
I am against these laws for many reasons, the main reason being they are superfluous. There are plenty of legal precedents for avoiding prosecution if someone were in danger. And as I implied earlier, it is no accident that each state with Stand Your Ground laws has similarly worded legislation.
The reason is because it was drafted with substantial input and lobbying from the National Rifle Association by the highly secretive American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC is essentially a right-wing legislation mill that formulates bills and, because of its huge corporate base, is able to pressure legislators to vote in favor of them.
Among its biggest donors are AT&T and Verizon, as well as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Wendy’s – who recently rescinded their support – and major media companies such as Comcast and Time Warner. This may explain why you’ve never heard of ALEC.
Some of their many projects have included measures to privatize Social Security and Medicare and enact restrictive voter ID, which curtails the voting rights of minorities and poor people.
Stand Your Ground is yet another indication of how much sway corporations have in our political system and an indication that establishing checks on their power is necessary.