Mediaboss Marketing

High noon is approaching in a standoff over part of a controversial bill dealing with "stand your ground" self-defense cases.

The House and Senate have both backed passing a bill that would shift a key burden of proof in "stand your ground" cases, but they have taken different stances on an important legal detail.

The Senate is deciding which chamber's proposal to put up for a vote next week, the final scheduled week of the 2017 legislative session.

Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who is sponsoring the Senate bill (SB 128) said Thursday the issue won't "die in messages" the process of bills bouncing back and forth between the House and Senate.

The issue stems from a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that said defendants during pre-trial hearings have the burden of proof to show they should be shielded from prosecution under the "stand your ground" law. The House and Senate would shift that burden to prosecutors, a change backed by groups such as the National Rifle Association.

In changing the burden of proof, the House wants to require prosecutors in "stand your ground" cases to overcome the asserted immunity sought by defendants through "clear and convincing evidence."

But the Senate, which rejected the "clear and convincing evidence" language earlier this session, wants a higher standard known as "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Critics contend that either the House or Senate approach to the issue would make it easier for people involved in fatal shootings to use stand your ground when there are no victims to counter the self-defense claims.

The Senate approved the bill 23-15 on March 15, while the House gave its version a 74-39 vote of support on April 5.

While the stand your ground issue remains to be resolved, Second Amendment advocates have had relatively little to show for the legislative session.

On Thursday, the Senate prepared for a possible vote Friday a measure (SB 616) that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to hang onto their handguns until they reach security checkpoints inside courthouses.

The proposal cleared the Rules Committee on Tuesday. But even if it is approved by the entire Senate, the fate of the bill remains to be seen as the House doesn't have a companion bill.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican who is sponsoring a number of firearm-related bills including the courthouse measure, said he hopes House Speaker Richard Corcoran will pick up the proposal when it comes over from the Senate.

Steube refused to say many of his other proposals including proposals that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry guns or carry firearms on university campuses or into airport terminals are dead for the session.

Steube has been unable to advance many of the bills through his divided Judiciary Committee, largely because of opposition Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.

"They're still live bullets, I mean the language is alive, but I think the members of the Senate have made it very clear where they're at," Steube said.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 22-13 to approve a measure (HB 849) that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to pack heat at private religious institutions that have schools.

The proposal will have to go back to the House because the Senate included a change that would prohibit people from carrying guns during school hours or when school activities are underway. The restriction was not included in the bill when passed by the House.

Supporters have said people with concealed-weapons licenses should be able to be armed at churches for security reasons.

"In this era across the country, we have had attacks during worship services, burglaries or thefts or robberies during worships, and people appear at church services with problems," Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said. "There is a security aspect in every environment and many people are willing to embrace that responsibility."

Outside of law enforcement officers, state law prohibits people from carrying guns at schools.

With some high-profile gun bills getting stuck in the Senate, the House hasn't focused on the measures.

"Obviously, I think there is interest in the House, but without any movement in the Senate, we've decided to spend time on things that we can actually get done," Rep. Neil Combee, an Auburndale Republican who is a key backer of gun-rights bills, said early this month.

Here is the original post:
Burden of proof changes to 'Stand Your Ground' laws still in limbo - Orlando Weekly (blog)

Source: Flickr

The criminalization of Black peopleand the use of white vigilantism as a weapon of violence against usare by no means a new concept in America. After all, violence and the very palpable threat of death have followed Black people for 400 years in the land of the free. However, in recent years, part of that legacy of anti-Black violence had assumed a new name: Stand Your Ground.

Beginning in Florida in 2005, through the efforts of conservative lawmakers, the National Rifle Association and the American Legislative Exchange Council, states across the country enacted Stand Your Ground laws. The legislation allows armed people to use deadly force, invoking self-defense as a justification for killing someone they believe poses an imminent threat. Often, these laws justify the murder of Black people by whites. Between 2012 and 2016, Stand Your Ground bills have failed in state legislatures. But now, in GOP-controlled states, these laws likely motivated by racism are making a comeback. Black lawmakers, who represent 10 percent of state legislators, are fighting the resurgence of these laws born from segregation fear and ignorance, as The Trace reported.

While U.S. law traditionally followed the castle doctrine which says the home is ones castle and allows a person to defend his or her home through deadly force without legal consequences this new breed of legislation has enabled the use of deadly force outside of the home or anywhere, whether or not the alleged perpetrator is armed. Within the context of racial justice, Stand Your Ground has proven highly problematic in a nation that views Black people as a threat to public safety, and where white people have relished the opportunity to deputize themselves in the policing and taking of Black lives.

Stand Your Ground was implicated in a number of high-profile cases involving the racialized killing of Black teenage victims. Two of these incidents took place in Florida in 2012, including the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, and the fatal shooting of Jordan Davis over loud music by a white man named Michael Dunn at a Jacksonville gas station. Studies have shown that these laws have made it easier for whites people to kill Black people with impunity. According to a 2012 study from the Urban Institutes Justice Policy Center, whites who kill Blacks in Stand Your Ground states are far more likely to be found justified than in jurisdictions without the law 354 percent more likely as opposed to 250 percent. A 2015 study in Social Science & Medicine revealed the extent of racial bias in Floridas Stand Your Ground statute. According to the report, the race of the victim predicted whether the defendant was convicted, with a jury conviction twice as likely in cases involving white victims vs.non-white victims.

In addition, Stand Your Ground statutes, also known as shoot first laws, have resulted in more bloodshed. For example, according to a 2012 Texas A&M University study, instances of murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased by 8 percent in states with Stand Your Ground laws, translating into 600 more homicides per year.

A study last year from the American Medical Association found that Florida experienced a 24.4-percent increase in homicides and a 31.6-percent increase in gun-related homicides from 2005after implementing Stand Your Ground and 2014.

Black people have not benefited from a law that was not meant for them. The case of Marissa Alexander was a salient example. Stand Your Ground was not available to Alexander, who ultimately spent three years in prison and two years under home confinement in a plea deal for firing a warning shot to ward off her abusive husband. She was initially sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

More than 20 states have implemented Stand Your Ground laws. Following four years of legislative inactivity during which time the Black Lives Matter movement came into being and, with it, heightened awareness of racial justice issues Republican-controlled state houses are once again enacting these laws, as The Trace reported. Black Democratic lawmakers are on the front lines of the resistance against the laws, but they arewitnessing their waning power in many states, including rural districts. Missouri was the first to make this move, followed by Iowa just recently. Florida, the first Stand Your Ground state, is poised to pass an even more stringent law according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Florida House of Representatives voted for a revised and approved Senate bill that favors shooters, shifting the burden of proof in pre-trial hearings to prosecutors, who must now prove that someone invoking Stand Your Ground should not be immune from prosecution. The NRA supported the bill, while state prosecutors, gun control advocates and the entire Democratic caucus opposed the measure. Marissa Alexander testified in support of changes to the law, while Lucia McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, expressed her opposition to the measure.

One shot and a 12-minute verdict got me 20 years, Alexander said in February before a state Senate committee, as the Florida Times-Union reported. In my own home. Concealed weapon license. White-collar worker. I had just given birth to an 8-month-old, 4-pound, 12-ounce premature baby.

Youre going to have an inordinate number of cases now that are going to be brought forth to be tried, said McBath, as reported by News4jax.com. More people are going to try to use Stand Your Ground as their lawful defense for shooting first and asking questions later.

Go here to see the original:
Home featured The Resurgence of 'Stand Your Ground' Laws and What It Could Mean... - Atlanta Black Star

State Rep. Ras Smith

In 2012, Florida teen Trayvon Martin became a poster-child for the states contested Stand Your Ground law, which granted residents like neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman the authority to use lethal force to defend himself in certain situations.

With proposals for similar legislation popping up in states across the country, Black lawmakers are now fighting to ensure that more of these laws dont pass and that there are no more Trayvon Martins.

As the Iowa State Legislature weighed theenactment of a Stand Your Ground lawfor the 11thyear in a row, Democrat State Rep. Ras Smith hoped he might put a stop to the considerations of his Republican colleagues. Smith, who represents a portion of Waterloo, Iowa, that holds the states largest Black population, made his case against the contested measure early last month when he took the floor and changedout of his dark tailored suit into a gray hoodie and bright red headphones.

Its been stated that [HF517] was crafted in a way that applies to all Iowans equally, Smith said. While I agree that we are all created equal, I do not agree that all Iowans are treated equally or protected equally.

Like many other Black legislators, the Iowa Democrat believes that Stand Your Ground laws have disproportionately justified the shootings of Black people. To test the moral compass of his fellow lawmakers on the matter, Smith turned himself into a threat [they] can perceive every day.

My colleagues say they respect me, he told The Trace, an independent news org covering all-things-guns in theU.S. So, I wanted to show them what I wear on a daily basis and to ask are they willing to pass legislation that could negatively impact my life?

The answer to the question was a resounding yes. Smiths demonstration wasnt enough to win over the Republican-controlled legislature, as the bill was passed on April 13 and later signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad, according to the new site.

For four years, between 2012 and 2016, every state that tried to pass Stand Your Ground measures failed, a result of Martins fatal shooting. Thats no longer the case, however, as Black Democrats power to influence legislation that directly impacts their constituents has diminished greatly.

The states that passed Stand Your Ground early on were low-hanging fruit, Christopher Mooney, the Director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois told The Trace. As Republicans gain strength in states like Missouri and Iowa, the odds of it passing go up.

So far, 33 states have enacted some form of Stand Your Ground law, while13 states have pending legislation to strengthen or enact said laws, according to American Bar Association data. Defenders of the measure argue that it simplyprotects the right to self defense, but critics say it has increasingly protected people who shoot and kill minorities. A 2013 study conducted by the Urban Institute also showed that in stand your ground cases where the shooter is white and the victim is Black, homicides were 281 percent more likely to be ruled justified than if the roles were reversed.

If youre white and not learning the value of minorities, then youre reacting to your own narrow frame of reference, which is usually soundbites on TV about criminals and drug dealers, said Representative Ako Abdul-Samad (D), one of many Black lawmakers who opposed the self-defense law. If thats all you have to go on, you will react with fear.

Black legislatorsalsoattribute the resurgence of Stand Your Ground laws to race-based segregation, arguing that the lack of diversity in both rural and suburban communities breeds irrational fear and ignorance of people who look different.

Representative Janet Cruz, the Democratic minority leader in the Florida House, pointed out that what the disputed lawmeans to someone in northern Florida could be totally different from what it means to someone from Tampa.

Although someone in a rural area may see Stand Your Ground as a tool to ensure theyre able to keep their family safe, for many in the urban parts of Florida, they see it as a threat to their family, Cruz said.

Rep. Smith didnt respond to request for comment.

The rest is here:
How Black Politicians Are Fighting the Resurgence of 'Stand Your Ground' Laws - Atlanta Black Star

Trump declared that an "eight-year assault" on gun ownership rights had come to a "crashing end" with his election.

He vowed to press forward on his plan to construct a border wall, despite setbacks in securing funding for the project or convincing Mexico to pay for it.

And after regaling the crowd with a retelling of his Election Night victory, he revived a campaign trail insult of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who he suggested was plotting to challenge him in 2020.

Even amid the right-wing rhetoric, however, Trump warned that simply electing him president wouldn't suffice in advancing the hard-right agenda his audience hopes to see realized.

"We can't be complacent," Trump said. "These are dangerous times. These are horrible times for certain, obvious reasons. But we are going to make them great times again."

It was a moment of darkness in what was otherwise a valedictory speech to an organization that backed Trump early and eagerly. Trump lavished the organization and its leaders, including executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, with praise in his remarks, and vowed to uphold his promises.

"You have a true friend and champion in the White House. No longer will federal agencies be coming after law-abiding gun owners," Trump said in his speech. "No longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as Americans. Instead, we will work with you, by your side."

While Trump, as well as his fellow speakers at the NRA meeting, decried Obama for his stance on guns, sales of firearms in over the past eight years surged, large due to fears that Obama would implement tougher gun control laws.

Persistent efforts to put in place new restrictions on gun sales, however, largely failed in Congress, even after repeated mass shootings. Obama had called the inability to pass meaningful gun control as one of the greatest disappointments of his presidency. Instead, he signed dozens of executive orders and memorandums putting in place new rules on background checks and sales.

His address Friday amounted to a return for Trump to the type of staunchly conservative setting that he used as a candidate to appeal to Republican voters. It's the first time a sitting US president has spoken at an annual meeting of the NRA since Ronald Reagan addressed the group in 1983.

Trump reaffirmed his campaign pledges to expand gun ownership rights and roll back some of the restrictions instituted under his Democratic predecessor. But made no new policy pronouncements to the gathering, which is taking place at a downtown convention center here.

Instead, he used the speech to boast about his win and warn potential rivals against challenging him.

"Only one candidate in the general election came to speak to you, and that candidate is now the president of the United States, standing before you, again," Trump said. "I have a feeling that in the next election, you're going to be swamped with candidates, but you're not going to be wasting your time."

"You'll have plenty of those Democrats coming over, and you're going to say, no sir, no thank you. No ma'am, perhaps ma'am," he said, going on to make a racially charged jab at Warren.

"It may be Pocahontas, remember that," Trump said. "She is not big for the NRA, that I can tell you. But you came through for me, and I am going to come through for you."

Trump is under pressure to demonstrate wins on the set of conservative principles he laid out as a candidate. In the past month, he's made about-faces on issues like China, trade and NATO, leading to some conservative angst the reversals reflect a drift away from the underpinnings of his campaign.

At Autrey's Armory, an indoor shooting range 40 minutes south of downtown Atlanta, patrons said they regarded Trump favorably as he nears 100 days in office. But they worried his record on gun rights would be hampered by Congress.

"I think it's going to be a mixed bag," said Mike Holtzclaw, a municipal public safety official in Atlanta who owns guns for hobby and self-protection. "I think that some gun owners are going to feel that he's done the best that he can, and I really think he's doing the best that he can. But I think some will be disappointed."

"That's going to be true not just of gun ownership," he said. "That's going to be true of several of the things that he's trying to put forward."

In his remarks, Trump reinforced one pledge that's so far been unfulfilled: building a border wall in an bid to halt illegal immigration. He repeatedly declared the country needed the physical barrier to keep Americans safe.

"We will build the wall, no matter how long this number gets, or how high this gets. Don't even think about it. Don't even think about it," Trump said. "You know, they're trying to use the number against us, because we've done so unbelievably at the borders already; they are trying to use it against us. But you need that wall to stop the human trafficking, to stop the drugs, to stop the wrong people. You need the wall."

Since taking office, Trump has barely mentioned gun ownership rights outside a few scattered mentions during the campaign rallies he's already holding for his reelection bid. He has taken steps to roll back certain Obama-era restrictions on gun use and sales, but has not yet made a concerted effort to relax current gun laws.

Advocates say they are looking for Trump to help advance legislation making concealed-carry permits valid across state lines, as well as a measure that would loosen requirements for buying gun silencers.

In February, Trump signed a measure that reversed a rule barring gun sales to certain mentally ill people, which was written as a response to the 2012 elementary school shooting in Connecticut. His administration also rolled back a regulation banning lead ammunition on wildlife refuges that was implemented on the last full day of the Obama presidency. But Trump himself didn't announce the change, leaving the task instead to his Interior secretary.

But Trump's chief accomplishment, in gun advocates' view, was his successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which returned a conservative majority to the panel and opened the door for legal challenges to some restrictive gun laws in states around the country. The NRA has already launched legal actions against an assault weapons ban in California in the hopes it will be eventually overturned by the high court.

As a candidate, Trump's pledge to appoint conservative judges earned him early backing from the NRA, which threw its support behind the Republican in May of last year after he spoke at their meetings in Louisville.

Trump's enthusiastic embrace of the guns rights organization sometimes appeared discordant: The President was once a proponent for stricter gun control laws, and hails from a city with some of the toughest restrictions on firearms in the country.

Trump's two sons, both avid hunters, worked to connect their father to gun rights advocates and act as credible voices for him on the subject, but he found himself overstepping occasionally in his rhetoric.

When Trump suggested that a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando could have been prevented if the victims were armed, the NRA offered a rare rebuke, saying his remark "defies common sense." Trump later offered clarification.

However, when Trump suggested that "Second Amendment people" take matters into their own hands should Clinton be elected, the NRA backed Trump, saying he was right that Clinton was a threat to their constitutional right to bear arms.

As traditional Republican groups either abandoned Trump on the campaign trail last year, or remained quiet in their support of the brash and controversial candidate, the NRA loudly proclaimed its support and poured millions of dollars into pro-Trump advertising.

The gun organization spent heavily in states where its membership overlapped with the white working-class voters Trump was targeting, including in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Their spending far outpaced previous election cycles, when the Republican candidates voiced more moderate stances on gun control.

On Thursday, the NRA said it was money well spent.

"We are very pleased," said Jennifer Baker, an NRA spokeswoman. "He ran as one of the most unabashed pro-second amendment candidates in my lifetime, and he really has kept his promises and done a lot for people who care about the Second Amendment and the Constitution in his first 100 days."

CNN's Tristan Smith and Scott McLean contributed to this report.

Originally posted here:
Trump: '8-year assault' on Second Amendment is over - CNN

Chris Cox 8:47 a.m. ET April 28, 2017

President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on April 26, 2017.(Photo: MIKE THEILER / POOL, EPA)

After eight long years, we once again havea president who respects and cherishes individual freedom. For Americas law-abiding gun owners, theTrump administrationis proving to beamongthe best in history. Soits important to take stock of all he has accomplished on behalf of the SecondAmendment inaveryshort time.

Thanks to President Trump,we are now back tohavinga 5-4pro-gunmajority on the U.S. Supreme Court. He appointed Jeff Sessionsas Attorney General,which means the Department of Justicewill return to focusing on prosecuting violent criminals instead oftargetinglaw-abiding gun owners.In Secretary of the Interior RyanZinke, Trump has appointed a man whois firmly committed to protecting hunting and shooting as priority uses on our public lands.In fact,Zinkerepealed one ofBarack Obamas most egregious anti-gun policieson his very first day on the job.

Ultimately, politicians are judged on whether they keep their promises. Forlaw-abidinggun owners, Trump has kept his promises, after running as the most pro-Second Amendment candidate in history.

Soonafter his inauguration, the president nominated NeilGorsuchto the Supreme Court.Justice Gorsuchbelieves in interpreting the law as the Framers intended. He will followthe example of Antonin Scalia,who wrote the majority opinion inthe most important Second Amendment decision inmodern history,District of Columbia v. Heller. That case reaffirmedthatthe Second Amendment protects the right of an individual to keep a firearm in their home for self-defense. Neil Gorsuch willprotect that right.

Trumpeting Ann Coulter's free speech: Alicia Shepard

10 ways 100 days have not been weird: Column

POLICING THE USA:Alook atrace, justice, media

Sessions will restore the rule of lawto the Justice Department. As our nations chief law enforcement officer,he willwork vigorously to respectindividual freedoms of American citizenswhile making our communities safer by cracking down on violent criminals.

Trump also made good on his promisewhen he nominated Zinketo lead the Interior Department.Zinke, aformer Navy Seal and avid outdoorsman, repealed theObama administration's ban on lead ammo on federal land on his first day in office.He knowsthat Americas sportsmen and women are critical toconservationandunderstands thatmanagementdecisions must recognize the importance of hunting, shooting, and other traditional uses on public lands.

Trump has also acted to protect the self-defense rightsof Social Security beneficiaries, repealing an eleventh-hour Obama rule that banned them.

For all he has accomplished, there is still a lot of work to do.Our fight is not over. But in Trump, we now have a president who trulybelieves in individual freedom.

Chris W. Cox is executive director of theNational Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To respond to a column, submit a comment toletters@usatoday.com.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2qebpyo

Go here to see the original:
Donald Trump delivers 100 days of 2nd Amendment victories: Chris Cox - USA TODAY