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TALLAHASSEE | Floridas stand your ground law, a source of contention for years, could soon provide even more protection to people who invoke it. Some lawmakers want to make prosecutors prove a defendant wasnt acting in self-defense before proceeding to trial.

Florida has been a leader in giving citizens immunity in cases of self-defense, with its stand your ground law serving as an emotional point of debate after several high-profile shooting deaths, including that of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

While at least 22 states have similar laws that say people can use force even deadly force to defend themselves from threats, Florida could soon be alone shifting the burden of proof to prosecutors.

Republican Sen. Rob Bradley says his bill isnt a novel concept.

We have a tradition in our criminal justice system that the burden of proof is with the government from the beginning of the case to the end, he said.

Floridas Supreme Court has ruled that the burden of proof is on defendants during self-defense immunity hearings. Thats the practice around the country. According to a legislative staff analysis of Bradleys bill, only four states mention burden of proof in their stand your ground laws Alabama, Colorado, Georgia and South Carolina and all place the burden on defendants.

Bradleys bill died last year but now its chances are improving: Its ready for a full Senate vote when the session begins next week, and one of two House committees assigned to hear it has approved it.

Democrats are opposing the bill, but have little leverage to stop it in a legislature dominated by Republicans and with a Republican governor.

The bill has received passionate opposition from people who feel the existing law has already been abused and will be invoked even more by people seeking to avoid responsibility for violent crimes.

Stand your ground is not just about guns: The defense can be invoked after any act of violence aimed at self-protection, whether its punching, stabbing, shooting or striking someone with an object.

Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmermans fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin isnt the only case thats part of the debate in Florida.

Lucy McBaths 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was fatally shot by Michael Dunn during an argument over loud music outside a Jacksonville convenience store. And in the Tampa Bay area, retired police officer Curtis Reeves is claiming self-defense in a stand your ground pretrial hearing after fatally shooting Chad Oulson in a dispute over a cellphone at a movie theater.

Both Zimmerman and Dunn claimed self-defense at trial and stand your ground was included in their juries instructions. Zimmerman was acquitted and Dunn was eventually convicted of murder.

McBath believes the way the law currently reads is why Dunns first jury couldnt reach a decision, and says expanding stand your ground protections would make it harder to keep people safe from gun violence.

Testifying against the bill at a Senate committee meeting, McBath said the current law already encourages citizens to shoot first and ask questions later.

This legislation would effectively require defendants who raise stand your ground defenses to be convicted twice, she said. Having lived through this grueling experience first-hand with two trials for my sons murder, I can attest to the anguish and the pain that this process elicits. We should not make it harder for family members to achieve the justice that they deserve.

Marissa Alexander, in contrast, supports Bradleys bill. She unsuccessfully tried a stand your ground defense and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for firing a gun near her estranged husband. She called it a warning shot to protect herself from abuse. Her conviction was thrown out on appeal and she was freed after reaching a plea deal in 2014.

I feel like you go into that kind of situation guilty until proven innocent, she said. She hopes Florida will start another trend if it passes.

Florida kind of sets the tone and other states follow, she said.

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Florida could flip burden of proving 'stand your ground' | St ... - St. Augustine Record

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When asked about policing and how to make neighborhoods safer, Legend said, I think we do have to do something about guns. We shouldnt live in a society so awash with guns that [it] makes the cops fearful and makes them suspicious of everybody.

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The Breakfast Club host DJ Envy said, You travel a lot. Youve been to Toronto, youve been to Japan, and you notice when you go to a lot of these countries, people are not allowed to have guns. Legend interjected, Yes, and their murder rates are way lower. Their suicide rates are lower, too, because when people have guns, they end up using them.

Envy asked, So banning guns in full, youre saying?

Legend responded:

Im not saying that necessarily would work. But if we look at Australia, they did something over there. They had a few mass shootings, and they said, You know what? Were going to take a pretty significant approach to reducing the amount of guns on the streets. And it worked. They didnt have another mass shooting, their murder rate went down, and we wont do it here because we got the Second Amendment. We got the NRA thats going to lobby against it. And maybe it wont be constitutional to do that, but at the end of the day, it actually worked. And if we wantto talk about what makes us safer, that would make us safer.

First, Australias gun confiscation scheme was fashioned as a gun buybacka mandatory buybackwhere peoplewith guns the government wished to ban were required to turn inthoseguns. The scheme resulted in the confiscation of somewhere between 650,000 and 1,000,000 firearms during the years 1996-1997. (Figures vary.) On September 13, 2016, Breitbart News reported that Australia is considering a new body of gun laws to fight the rising gun crime that is marring Melbourne, Australia, and much of Victoria. In fact, Melbourne has had more than one shooting a week since January 2015.

But the Australian model is Legends solution?

Second, part of what Australia is now considering to fight gun crime is an amnesty whereby criminals will have a period of time to turn their guns in without penalty. Ironically, during Legends appearance on The Breakfast Club, he was told a lot of people do not turn in their guns during buybacks because they are afraid that the gunand the crimes committed with itwill somehow be traced back to them. Legend responded by suggesting some type of amnesty period to get guns off the street.

So he is pushing the Australian gun buyback that did not prevent criminals from having guns in the first place and is also pushing the second phase of that failed policy: amnesty for criminals with guns.

Legend also blamed Chicagos gun crime on Indiana, claiming that criminals in Chicago go to Indiana to buy their guns. This opened the door for him to criticize the differences in gun laws from state to state in the U.S. He said, Wed have to do something nationally that was much more pervasive to get rid of guns.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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John Legend: Second Amendment, NRA Prevent U.S. from ...

Hugh Taylor | Special to the Daily News

Re: Column, Feb. 14, Why did the Constitution need the Second Amendment?

With guns being as much of a problem as they are, I am interested in learning more about the matter and what can be done about it. The history set forth in the recent column in your paper by Dr. Mark Hopkins is the best that I have read and provides an excellent starting point in understanding the matter.

I personally feel that the Second Amendment only permits gun ownership when a citizen is an active member of an organized (controlled and structured) militia. I think the Second Amendment is currently being misinterpreted.

My training in the USMC taught me that a gun in the hands of an untrained person is nearly worthless as a tool of self-defense and provides only a feeble and false sense of security to the untrained. The present interpretation of this amendment not only provides the public with a false sense of security, but also is causing the loss of freedom and many unnecessary deaths.

People now have to be careful about when and where they go. Laws need to be enacted that protect citizens from the use of guns and the sale of inappropriate weapons (hunting guns excluded). These laws should include search and seizure of weapons that are possessed in the public domain along with stiff fines for violation.

We need a Wyatt Earp. Where is he now? You may remember he required that people check their guns into the sheriffs office when they came to town (Wichita, Kansas) in the late-1800s and that stopped the bloodshed there.

This guest column is from Hugh Taylor, a snowbird from Overland Park, Kansas.

Editors Note

Guest editorials and columns that regularly appear in this space are not intended to reflect a particular stance of the Northwest Florida Daily News but rather share expanded viewpoints from other media outlets and our readers. To be considered for publication, guest editorials and columns from readers cannot be longer than 500 words and must be submitted by email to letters@nwfdailynews.com. Please put Guest Editorial or Guest Column in the subject line.

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GUEST COLUMN: 2nd Amendment currently being misinterpreted ... - Port St. Joe Star

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As national elections loom, Mrs Merkel is attempting to shore up support in Germany and try to wrestle votes back from the staunchly anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

At the height of the migrant crisis, the European powerhouse welcomed more than one million migrants fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria.

The chancellors open-door migration policy was applauded at the time but public opinion began to sour after reports of mass sexual attacks on New Years Eve in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported being assaulted.

A further attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, whited killed 12, was perpetrated by Tunisian Anis Amri, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS).

EPA

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Protest on the sidelines of Angela Merkel's official visit in Brussels

Angela Merkel has been under pressure to reduce the intake of refugees and as part of her to drive to scale back arrivals she is visiting Egypt and Tunisia.

Scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Mrs Merkels government has urged the country, along with the other Maghreb states, to step up efforts to tackle the migrant problem.

Libya, a Magreb country, has been without an effective government after the overthrow of the dictator Mummer Gaddafi in 2011.

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As a result, the country has fallen prey to lawlessness, with the tentacles of ISIS permeating the country and people traffickers operating out of it, making it one of the main gateways into Europe across the Mediterranean.

The German leader urged Egypt - Libya's neighbour - to increase border controls and speed up the repatriation of rejected asylum-seekers.

Mrs Merkel said: Without a political stabilisation of Libya, we won't be able to stop the human traffickers operating out of Libya who are responsible for, by far, the most arrivals in Italy

We won't be able to stop the human traffickers operating out of Libya

Angela Merkel

"Egypt, as a regional institution, as a regional power, plays a major role here, as do Algeria and Tunisia.

She is due to meet with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi before flying back home.

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The two-day trip is part of wider diplomatic efforts to address the immigration issue, and followed trips to Mali, Niger and Ethiopia last year.

But a sticking point in negotiations with the African countries is over their human rights records, sparking fears for any migrants returning to them.

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Judith Sunderland, the Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said: "Ensuring safe and swift returns of Tunisians and Egyptians who are not in need of protection is legitimate, as long as the procedures are fair.

"It's another thing entirely to pursue dodgy deals that could trap asylum-seekers and migrants from elsewhere in countries like Tunisia and Egypt that cannot guarantee decent treatment or meaningful access to asylum.

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Desperate Merkel flies to North Africa to tackle migrant crisis before German elections - Express.co.uk

Manitoba and Manitobans are at the breaking point dealing with asylum-seekers and need immediate help from Ottawa, Premier Brian Pallister implored Friday.

"We need a national plan, because it's not going to go away," Pallister told reporters Friday afternoon. "We've all heard the noise from the U.S."

Pallister wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Feb. 21 asking for help. Pallister could not say Friday how much money and other resources Manitoba is seeking; his staff said details will not be available until next week.

"It's a moving target," said the premier. "It's escalating."

At least 190 people have crossed into Canada near the Emerson border crossing just this year, including 21 overnight Thursday.

Energy and resources are running out, said Pallister: "That's what people are telling me, who are working on the front lines."

The premier said the ongoing and overwhelming influx is putting a heavy burden on housing, social services, education especially English as an additional language and Legal Aid Manitoba, which handles all the paperwork and legal processes for the newcomers to Canada.

Because asylum-seekers are crossing from the U.S. in only three or four provinces and because it may not be seen as a large problem on a national scale, Ottawa may be treating it as a Manitoba problem rather than a Canadian one, Pallister acknowledged.

The federal government announced Friday that two senior cabinet ministers will be in Emerson Saturday morning.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale and Natural Reources Minister Jim Carr will visit Emerson "to meet and thank the officials, workers, volunteers, and agencies on the ground, who have been dealing with the recent increase in irregular border crossings. The ministers will hold a brief media availability during their visit," said Ottawa officials.

The premier spoke Friday morning to Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, whose borders are increasingly receiving asylum-seekers. "He shares those concerns," said Pallister, adding the number of asylum-seekers hits Manitoba most disproportionately than of any province.

Pallister has directed provincial officials to identify provincial resources being diverted to deal with the ongoing issue, and to identify from which other front line services those staff and resources are being moved.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

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Pallister to Ottawa: Manitoba at breaking point in migrant crisis - Winnipeg Free Press