Its been four months since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, but time hasnt silenced controversy surrounding the Stand Your Ground self-defense law in Florida.
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee took up two bills related to guns in a five-hour hearing Thursday. The more controversial,HB 4003, was a bill to repeal the law sponsored by Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, which was shot down 11-2 by the subcommittee after hours of discussion, testimony, and debate.
The hearing was a direct result of a 31-day protest against the law from the Dream Defenders, a group of young activists who camped out at the Florida Capitol, vowing not to leave until Gov. Rick Scott held a special session to discuss the law.
The Stand Your Ground law, which allows a law-abiding person to use whatever degree of force he or she thinks necessary if he/she fears for his/her life, was not used in George Zimmerman's defense.
Stand Your Ground is not working as the 2005 Legislature intended, argued Williams, who said there was a need to repeal the law and start from scratch.
The House Subcommittee grilled Williams on the implications of his bill. Parents, legislators and members of the public gathered at the hearing. Phillip Agnew, Dream Defenders leader, took the stage to say that the gross delay of the hearing showed a lack of seriousness on the issue.
The law we are speaking about rests only on fear, on prejudice, and on hate, said Agnew, who pleaded with lawmakers to change the law. Do not allow Disney World to be the only place in this state where dreams come true.
Former NRA president Marion Hammer showed up to voice her opposition to HB 4003.
[Stand Your Ground] puts the rights of victims above the rights of criminals, and thats the way its supposed to be, said Hammer.
When it came time for legislators to debate the issue, Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said there was a lot of confusion about Williams bill.
What I have heard tonight is great misunderstanding about this bill, said Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, who was part of the discussion on Stand Your Ground when it passed in 2005. The original legislation protected citizens. It gave them the ability to protect their ground ... I think this is a key right we have as American citizens.
On their Twitter page, the Dream Defenders brought in the issue of race at the hearing, saying that every single supporter of the Stand Your Ground bill at the hearing was white.
Every. Single. Opponent. testifying in support of#StandYourGround has been white. Every one. read the tweet.
But several lawmakers dismissed the claim that the law was about race, including Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral, and Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.
Eagle dismissed the claims, saying instead the law was an issue of human rights.
Williams bill ultimately died 11-2, though he promised Gaetz that the law would be changed in the future. Thursday's defeatlikely kills any repeal effort in the Legislature this year, but it's possible a separate Senate measure still pending could revise the self-defense law, which was first passed in 2005.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen atallison@sunshinestatenews.comor follow her on Twitter at@AllisonNielsen.
