GOP Lawmaker: We Already Had Hearing on Stand Your Ground Law

A Republican legislator took issue with Democrats' call for a hearing into Florida's Stand Your Ground law that has come under partisan fire since the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old in Sanford.

House Democratic Leader-designate Perry Thurston on Wednesday urged Speaker Dean Cannon to convene a legislative hearing into the 2005 law, which authorizes individuals to use lethal force to protect themselves if they feel they are in danger.

Regarding the shooting of Trayvon Martin last month, Thurston, D-Plantation, said, "I don't think it was the intent of the Florida Legislature to authorize citizens to be hunted down and shot with impunity. I believe it is now imperative that lawmakers discuss and take a fresh look at Florida's Stand Your Ground law."

But Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, said, "The Stand Your Ground law does not apply every time someone pulls the trigger on a gun."

Kreegel also dismissed the need for a legislative hearing on the law.

"We have had a formal hearing on the law. It was called a debate. We had a second and third reading," he said. "The law is good."

Nonetheless, Kreegel said he was not surprised by Thurston's latest gambit, noting, "The Democrats were against the law at the time and the Republicans were for it."

"To return to the assumption of a duty to retreat is the wrong thing to do," Kreegel stated.

That said, Kreegel, who is running for Congress in the 19th District, added, "I don't know what happened [in Sanford]. No one does. There should be a full inquiry" into the incident.

Neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman has admitted to shooting Martin during a confrontation between the two.

House Speaker Dean Cannon spoke to Thurston Wednesday afternoon and said he "shares his concerns with the events surrounding Trayvons death," said Cannon spokeswoman Katie Betta.

"The speaker does not feel that legislative action is needed at this time, given the pending FBI and FDLE investigations, as well as the upcoming convening of the Seminole County Grand Jury on April 10.

"Speaker Cannon will be closely monitoring the situation and any new developments that may arise in the case," Betta said.

A tea party leader also waded into the swelling political controversy on Wednesday, contending that Second Amendment rights need to be considered.

"The Constitution is clear. We have a right to bear arms and protect our property and family and self," said Geoff Ross, head of the Emerald Coast Tea Party.

"If the investigation shows that [Zimmerman's] life was not in danger and he used deadly force improperly, then he should be prosecuted. If the investigation shows his life was in grave danger, then he has every right to defend himself and his property under the Second Amendment."