Senate Panel Considers Revisions to 'Stand Your Ground' Law

One bill was written by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, who originally drafted the statute nearly 10 years ago.

The Stand Your Ground law is an excellent law, but there are some improvements that can be made, said Simmons, whose bill (SB 130) isbeing combined with similar legislation (SB 122) sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale. The two bills have some differences over exactly how much protection to provide for people who use deadly force, but they said they'll work those differences out at a later time.

The legislation, slated for a vote Tuesday, is the first hearing since the highly-publicized trial of George Zimmerman, who belonged to a neighborhood watch program. Zimmerman said he followed teenager Trayvon Martin and the confrontation ultimately resulted in Martin's death. Stand Your Ground was not invoked in the case, but became the center of a media frenzy and a 31-day protest against the law in the Florida Capitol, arranged by a Miami-based group, Dream Defenders.

The Dream Defenders expressed their disappointment over the proceedings via Twitter on Tuesday, calling the hearing "extremely unproductive."

"We need more than what @DSimmonsFL called an 'I really mean it clause.' we need real change & an end to unchecked violence #StandYourGround," read a tweet posted Tuesday from the Dream Defenders' Twitter account.