Trayvon Martin’s Mother: ‘Get Rid of’ Stand Your Ground Law

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, on Wednesday was in the Capitol with Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and others seeking to repeal the Use of Deadly Force in Defense of a Person statute.

We need to get rid of this law; as a parent I wouldnt want you to stand in my shoes because it is hard, it is difficult, Fulton said.
Martin, 17, was shot Feb. 26, 2012, while walking through a Sanford gated community, returning from a 7-Eleven.

George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch leader, has claimed self-defense under the states Stand Your Ground law in the shooting and continues to await a trial.

Fulton called Zimmerman a make-believe cop.

Bullard claimed the states Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection, established by Gov. Rick Scott after the Martin shooting to review the law, has failed its job.

A this point weve seen too many scenes of this dog and pony show go around the state to come up with no recommendations, so were taking a proactive stance to say the law is an unjust law, Bullard said. Its legalized vigilantism.

In November the task force released a draft report that reaffirmed the 2005 law, suggesting some tweaks to the law, such as better defining a standard for neighborhood watch groups and how law enforcement should detain people after a shooting in which the law is invoked.

"The task force concurs with the core belief that all persons, regardless of citizenship status, have a right to feel safe and secure in our state, the report stated. To that end, all persons have a fundamental right to stand their ground and defend themselves from attack with proportionate force in every place they have a lawful right to be and are conducting themselves in a lawful manner.

While Bullard and Williams intend to file a bill seeking to repeal the law, dont expect the effort to see much action.

House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has shown little interest in altering the law, telling the AP in November: "What we won't do is use that tragedy as an excuse to water down people's ability to defend themselves in Florida."