State leaders say nothing will be done half-cocked by the task force named Thursday to review the Stand Your Ground law likely to be used as a defense in the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Gov. Rick Scott and Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, in announcing the 17 members of the Citizens Safety and Protection Task Force on Thursday, said the panels series of statewide meetings that will be conducted throughout the summer and fall will have a slow and deliberate focus on measures involving public safety.
Were walking into this to get data, get input, Scott said. If there are logical changes to be made, then this task force will provide those.
Those who have questioned the Stand Your Ground law (Florida Statute Chapter 776) or desire changes to other rules involving public safety, shouldnt expect any quick changes as nothing can be done until legislators begin to hold conferences at the end of the year in advance of the 2013 regular session, Carroll said.
Wed like to have statewide meetings so individuals that would like to have an opportunity will have input, said Carroll, who is chairwoman of the task force.
The first meeting of the task force will be May 1 at the Department of Transportation headquarters in Tallahassee. The mostly administrative session will be to organize meeting dates across the state and suggest presenters to be brought before the panel.
Scott said that while he waited to start the task force until after a special investigator completed her review of the Martin shooting, the task force review will be separate from the judicial look at the Martin case.
This is the right time to start this process, I dont know which will end up first, but they are totally separate, Scott said.
The Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., pastor of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, will serve as vice chairman of the task force,
Were going to engage the entire state of Florida to tell us the pros and cons of these laws, Holmes said. The brilliance of this is you have the governors office saying, 'Lets look at this.' Instead of hot air maybe elsewhere, this committee has the opportunity to listen to you, the public at large, and begin to take testimonies and make recommendations.
While there are no direct representatives from the National Rifle Association on the task force, which has backed the Stand Your Ground defense, the panel will include Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who sponsored the 2005 law that has since spread in total or parts to 24 other states.
Carroll said those selected submitted applications.
The task force will also include Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, and Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford.
Siplin told the Miami Herald, I think its needed as a result of what happened in the Trayvon Martin case.
The seemingly alarming number of deaths surrounding the Stand Your Ground law [means] we need to look at it and see if it needs to be tweaked."
Carroll, who voted for the law in 2005 along with Simmons and Siplin, said the task force review will determine if her vote was a mistake. Well find out, she said.
The task force also includes Maria Newman, a neighborhood watch volunteer from Melbourne.
George Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Martin, was a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The University of Florida's Levin College of Law will assist the task force.
On Wednesday, Scott told the Orlando Sentinel editorial board, and mentioned on the radio, that the task force would be announced within two weeks.
Asked Thursday about the quick turnaround, Scott replied, I just wasnt going to tell them when I was going to do it.
The task force members are:
- Sheriff Larry Ashley of Shalimar Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
- State Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, District 24.
- Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth B. Bell.
- State Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, District 33.
- Derek E. Bruce of Orlando, attorney with Edge Public Affairs.
- Joseph A. Caimano Jr. of Tampa, criminal defense attorney with Caimano Law Group.
- Edna Canino of Miami, president of the Florida Embassy of League of United Latin American Citizens, Council 7220.
- Gretchen Lorenzo of Fort Myers, neighborhood watch coordinator for the Fort Myers Police Department.
- Judge Krista Marx of West Palm Beach, 15th Judicial Circuit.
- Katherine Fernandez Rundle of Miami, state attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit.
- Stacy A. Scott of Gainesville, assistant public defender with the 8th Judicial Circuit.
- Mark Seiden of Miami, self-employed attorney.
- State Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, Florida Senate, District 22.
- State Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, Florida Senate, District 19.
Floridians can follow the task force meetings through a website www.FLGov.com/citizensafety or follow the task force on Twitter @FLCitizenSafety.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
