Honoring the life of 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin, urging the State of Florida and others to repeal the Stand Your Ground law, and admonishing involved parties to pursue full investigations into all homicides, regardless of defenses asserted by the offender. Whereas on February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, an African-American youth, was horrifically shot and killed while walking from his local 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida, because he was viewed as ‘suspicious' by George Zimmerman … Whereas Zimmerman's unfounded assumptions and racial bias led to the use of deadly force; Whereas a month after the crime, Zimmerman remains free and still bears a concealed weapons permit and the legal right to carry a gun; Whereas Trayvon Martin's brutal death and the inconceivable fact that his killer remains free should not be ignored . . . Whereas Stand Your Ground laws dramatically and recklessly expand the right of citizens to use deadly force in self-defense, and have been the subject of national scrutiny in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death; Whereas the Stand Your Ground laws were drafted by organizations, corporations, and individuals that ignored advice from experts explaining that such laws would compromise public safety, disproportionately impact communities of color, and would result in offenders circumventing prosecution; Whereas an attempted expansion of the Stand Your Ground laws doctrine has resulted in the collaboration of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which promotes conservative public policy by affecting change in State legislatures;. . . . Whereas the 2005 passage of Florida's Stand Your Ground law resulted in similar statutes being passed in 16 other States: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) admonishes any State, local agency, or official acting to obstruct an open investigation or failing to fully execute their official duties in the investigation of the events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin; (2) condemns all relevant parties for their roles in proposing Stand Your Ground legislation and similar legislation that compromises public safety and the integrity of the prosecutorial system; (3) condemns unfounded reliance on Stand Your Ground laws to protect actions that extend far beyond historical use of self-defense; (4) urges any State legislature considering Stand Your Ground legislation to reject such proposals; and (5) urges the repeal of the Stand Your Ground law in every applicable State, including Florida.
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4/04/2012
Congressional Democrats from Florida sponsor Resolution blaming Trayvon Martin's shooting on "Racial Bias"
Racial bias? Where is the evidence of that? This resolution selectively picks that some parts of Zimmerman's statements to police were accurate. Mr. Emanuel Cleaver from Missouri was the sponsor and Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Ms. WILSON of Florida were the co-sponsors. All are Democrats.
The resolution is available here:
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