The Stand Your Ground Laws are becoming a hot topic in today’s news. Headlines are flooded with stories about cases around the country. These laws surround everyone from your everyday citizens to prominent sports figures and entertainers. The Stand Your Ground laws provide individuals with certain rights to protect themselves in events where they may feel threatened. It is also known as the Castle Rule, most of the United States have adopted some form of this law to protect its’ residents who may feel the need to use self-defense in situations where they may feel threatened. These laws spread quickly around the country since Florida passed the first laws in 2005. The law in most states would suggest that a person attempt to retreat rather than stand their ground. If there is no way to retreat then the law gives you the right to stand your ground, or does it?
The views across the country vary amongst Americans. Depending upon whom you ask you are liable to get a very different answer. In the case of Michael Zimmerman, a Hispanic and white male in South Florida who shot and killed a seven-teen year old black male who was walking home one night from hanging out with friends. The confrontation took place in an upscale community where Mr. Zimmerman lived. Reports state that 911 was called and Mr. Zimmerman was asked not to follow the teen. Over a period of four minutes the two individuals had the opportunity to retreat. The teen could have continued his journey home and Mr. Zimmerman could have returned to his home as well. Neither of the two chose to retreat and during the encounter a fight had commenced. In fear of his life Mr. Zimmerman shot and killed seventeen year old Treyvon Martin. Mr. Zimmerman was later found...
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...an however keep myself educated on the usage of weapons as well as the laws that regulate the usage in hopes that if ever put into a situation where I had to use a weapon to stand my ground that I would not have to not use it out of fear of the outcome.
Works Cited
Florida Times Union http://members.jacksonville.com/news/crime/2014-03-
01/story/marissa-alexander-sentence-could-triple-warning-shot-case L. Hannan
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Jealous, Benjamin. “Should “Stand Your Ground” Laws Be Repealed?.” US News Digital Weekly May 30, 2013: 16.
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Scanlan, Dan. “Baptist pastors demand governor ’repeal or repair’ Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law.” Florida Times Union, The (Jacksonville, Florida) 5 March 2014
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Jonsson Patrik. “Race and ‘stand your ground.” Christian Science Monitor 12 August 2013
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Fields, Gary. "New Washington Gun Rules Shift Constitutional Debate." Wall Street Journal. 17 May. 2010: A. 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
On March 12, 2012 Bill Lee, the Chief of Police for Sanford Florida, explained Zimmerman had not been arrested because the police found no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s self-defense claim (Timeline of events: Trayvon Martin shooting case). Then the media decided to bully the state of Florida into bringing Florida by influencing public opinion. One of the ways the media achieved this was by making it seem like the reason there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, and Zimmerman’s eventual acquittal, was because of the controversial law in several states, including Florida, known as “Stand-Your Ground.”
For example, in Jacksonville, Florida, Jordan Davis, another unarmed teenager was killed by Michael Dunn. Davis and other teenagers were riding in a SUV with music blasting from the vehicle, when Dunn pulled up alongside of them and asked them to turn the music down . Words was exchanging between the two parties, and Dunn fired 8 to 9 shots into the SUV where he fatally shot Davis. Dunn was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Dunn claimed he fired in self-defense and invoked the “Stand Your Ground law” as his defense. ...
Shooting innocents just by the way they dress or walking it’s a disgrace in our country. In the case of Trayvon Martin he was shoot on February 26, 2012 just because he was wearing a hoody and he was black. George Zimmerman the man that killed him said that he acted in self-defends. What would a 17 year old have done that Zimmerman acted in self-defends? I disagree George Zimmerman acted in self-defense and I feel there is something wrong with the stand your ground law. He already had previous problems with his ex wives and ex girlfriends.
After he called 911 he was clearly instructed not to approach the suspicious individual (Trayvon Martin), but instead he disobeyed and intercepted Trayvon. Zimmerman was just a neighborhood watch person when he tried to be a professional cop which he had no training in or permission to do. Obviously it seemed he was out to start something that could have been avoided all together. Also Mr. Zimmerman used extreme force against a teenager that was unarmed. Mr. Zimmerman was known for discriminating against individuals in his own family. He had his run in with the law as previously stated above. The shooting of Martin was not only the first time he was put into hand cuffs. Zimmerman had been reported as abusing his now wife multiple times, Drinking under the influence, and many others. It shows that Zimmerman has a mental problem based on the previous crimes
First, I would like to bring to your attention that George Zimmerman was found not Guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin under the 'Stand your ground law' This law which is placed gives individuals the right to use deadly force to defend themselves without having to retreat from a dangerous situation However, When Zimmerman called 911 and explained to the police department about the suspicious of Trayvon Martin the police officer informed him not to follow yet Zimmerman continue to follow him after the dispatcher told him there was no need to do so Surely if George Zimmerman after calling a dispatch unit because he felt unsafe why did he feel the need to then follow the young teenager he is now inserting himself into what he declared to be a dangerous situation Knowing full well that he was armed, Zimmerman followed Trayvon in his car AND on foot meaning he left his car making the decision to bring his gun in order to pursue and confront someone Here you can see he was clearly wanting trouble. he was ordered not to follow him. But he did so therefore he has no right to claim self-defense. He was asking for a fight and he got one, with a kid he thought to be dangerous. we can clearly see George Zimmerman was the instigator and placing himself into this position and then use the act of self defense to justify murder of an innocent unarmed teenager. I don't think he set out to ...
Zimmerman was asked by a dispatcher to stop pursuing Treyvon Martin. The “Stand Your Ground”
According to the dispatcher’s transcripts, the death of an innocent person resulted when Zimmerman disobeyed the instructions of a professional and authorized dispatcher by acting on his own. He was instructed not to get out of his vehicle or approach the person. Zimmerman refused to follow these directions and followed Martin down the street, until they confronted each other and had an altercation. During the altercation, Zimmerman stated that Martin had attacked him with excessive force and forced him to the ground. As result of those actions, Zimmerman’s head hit the pavement causing injuries to the face, causing him ...
In recent years American citizens have increasingly felt the need to protect themselves. This has led to laws being established in many states widely known as stand your ground laws. These laws allow citizens to take action if they feel their life is threatened or they are in potential harm, instead of retreating. Without doubt this has led to much controversy with individuals taking strong stances on both sides of the issue. Some feel it’s a necessity, while others take the opinion that it is unethical and needs to be repealed across all states. With many high profile cases such as the Treyvon Martin case, these laws have come under a lot of fire and scrutiny. Cynthia Tucker who is an African American visiting professor at the University of Georgia, experienced journalist and 2007 Pulitzer prize winner, has established her side of the issue in her article ‘Stand your Ground’ Laws Encourage Vigilantes. In her article Cynthia Tucker strongly takes the stance that Stand your ground laws should be repealed and lead gun totting vigilantes to spread bigotry and racial hate. The author of this article ineffectively demonstrates how ‘stand your ground’ laws have encouraged vigilantism due to her lack of evidence, biased opinions on the matter, and her poor claims related to the topic.
As present in the Zimmerman case of 2013. 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was an unarmed teen wandering around in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman had called 911 to inform them of a suspicious character around the neighborhood. The police informed him to stay in his car and not approach Martin. Zimmerman did not listen to the police. When the police arrived at the scene, they arrived to a dead body belonging to Martin, an African American teen, who was unarmed. Zimmerman was injured in the encounter. Immediately claiming that it had been an act of self defense. In the beginning, he was not tried as there was no proof to disprove his story. Later it is recommended that he be tried for manslaughter as he did not identify himself to Martin. In a recording of the 911 call there is a voice heard saying, “Help! Help!” It seems the voice is that of Trayvon Martin. Shortly after gunshots are heard. In the end, Zimmerman is found not guilty of murder as it was an act of self
Skolnick, J., Fyfe, J. (1993) Above the law: Police and the Excessive use of force. United States: The Free Press
Imagine that your daughter is walking home from the store. A man in a black car starts following her. He gets out and begins to follow her by foot. You daughter begins to run in fear. The suspicious character begins running after her. She stops and decides to face her fear. She knees him and pepper sprays him. Seconds later, shots were fired leaving your daughter dead. She is the aggressor and he is justified for shooting her in “self-defense” under the stand your ground law. The stand-your-ground law is a law that states that an individual has the lawful right to use any level of forces, including lethal force, if they are faced in any situation where they feel harmed. The first “stand your ground” law was passed in April of 2005 in Florida.WHile the “Stand Your Ground” law can be used as self defense, it puts the lives of African American youth in danger by allowing people to take unfair advantage of the law: therefore, O.C.G.A 16-3-23.1 should be prohibited.
Professional champions of civil rights and civil liberties have been unwilling to defend the underlying principle of the right to arms. Even the conservative defense has been timid and often inept, tied less, one suspects, to abiding principle and more to the dynamics of contemporary Republican politics. Thus a right older than the Republic, one that the drafters of two constitutional amendments the Second and the Fourteenth intended to protect, and a right whose critical importance has been painfully revealed by twentieth-century history, is left undefended by the lawyers, writers, and scholars we routinely expect to defend other constitutional rights. Instead, the Second Amendment’s intellectual as well as political defense has been left in the unlikely hands of the National Rifle Association (NRA). And although the NRA deserves considerably better than the demonized reputation it has acquired, it should not be the sole or even principal voice in defense of a major constitutional provision.
Was justice really served in the “State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman” case? Is our justice system fair to all races? This case is about a 16 year old kid from Miami named Trayvon Martin. On the night of February 26th, Trayvon walked from his father's house in a gated community to a nearby store. When walking back he was spotted by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer. There had been a number of break-ins in the neighborhood over the last few weeks and Zimmerman though that a young black man walking in the rain and wearing a hooded sweatshirt looked suspicious. Zimmerman then called 911 to report this person who "might be on drugs." He then got out of his car and...
The Crux,. 'If You Believe In "Gun Control," This Is Probably Not For You... '. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Oct.