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In the few weeks remaining in the legislative session, lawmakers may send Gov. John Kasich a bill eliminating the legal duty of Ohioans to retreat from danger before using deadly force to protect themselves.

A person facing a life-threatening situation should not have a duty to flee and hope for the best, Rep. Terry Johnson (R., McDermott) told the Senate Civil Justice Committee weighing his bill containing numerous changes to Ohio gun laws.

They should have the right to protect themselves and protect their loved ones.

House Bill 203 passed the House nearly a year ago by a bipartisan vote of 63-27. It has drawn comparisons with Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground law.

Floridas law was tried in the court of public opinion but not in the actual courtroom when George Zimmerman was accused but acquitted in the 2012 shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

But Dr. Johnson noted that Ohioans in such situations would still have to show they acted in self-defense and did nothing to escalate the danger. Under Floridas law, the prosecutor bears the burden of proving the shooter did not act in self-defense.

Ohio is one of the toughest states in the union to prove self-defense, Dr. Johnson said. In other states you dont have nearly that barrier to get across.

The provision is essentially an extension of Ohios Castle Doctrine law, which states that residents do not have a duty to retreat when they believe they are endangered in their homes or cars. House Bill 203 extends that to anywhere a legal gun owner has a right to be.

It is a continual effort to try to take away regulations on carrying weapons, said Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. With Stand Your Ground, were already covered in this state with self-defense.

This is just telling people to go and act as law enforcement if they feel threatened, but how can we judge how you or I would feel threatened? she asked. We dont have people locked up in jail because they defended themselves.

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Gun law overhaul could go to governor

DENISON, TX - A recent Gainesville home invasion has raised questions about the use of deadly force. News's 12 looked into the specifics of the "Stand Your Ground" law.

The right of the people to keep bear arms is a Second Amendment constitutional right.

But the right to defend one's self, property or home varies between states. They are known as "Stand Your Ground" laws and "Castle Doctrine."

"Every man has a right to protect his property and his family," said Jessie Jordan, a Texas resident.

Both Texas and Oklahoma have adopted a "Stand Your Ground" law which allows you in specific instances to use force, even deadly force if warranted, to protect yourself.

"Deadly force is only authorized to be used against a person in defense of one's self or another person," said Lieutenant Mike Eppler with the Denison Police Department.

The Texas Penal Code Title 2 and Oklahoma Title 21 clearly state that the use of force is only to be used if there is an imminent threat of harm or death, and when someone is unlawfully or forcefully entering your home, vehicle or place of business.

But it's important to remember every situation is different.

"The facts on a case by case basis and then those facts will be weighed later if deadly force is used against someone to see if it was justified or not," said Eppler.

Although state laws allow you to protect yourself, law enforcement recommend you avoid confrontation if at all possible.

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Texas' Stand Your Ground Law explained

They say a photo is worth a thousand words. So consider what message an advertisement for a line of bulletproof vests for young kidsis sending.

The controversial billboard advertising that popped up in Tallahassee, FL, is part of the Vest or Vote campaign created by The Dream Defenders.

The social justice organization is trying hard to get out to vote in Floridas midterm election, even if they have to shock them to do so. According to a report on Jacksonvilles CBS 47 Action News, the Dream Defenders want to elect candidates who will repeal the states controversial stand your ground law.

The BRPR Group, the Miami-based advertising agency behind the campaign, said the billboard was inspired by youth clothing ads such as those for H&M or Gap.

The featured website even initially seems to be an online retailer selling the child-sized, bulletproof Dream Vest. But after waiting or by clicking on the page, visitors to the website are redirected to a brief public service announcement. The video features a woman bundling up her son in the bulletproof vest the same way many mothers adjust their childrens coats and hats. The PSA ends with the audio from several news reports covering the deaths of Oscar Grant III in Oakland, Calif.; Michael Brown in the continuing case of Ferguson, Mo.; and Floridas own Trayvon Martin, reports AdWeek.

Ads for the vest appear on Twitter and Facebook as well.

In November, Floridas voters will be faced with the question first posed by Malcolm X, the ballot or the bullet, Ciara Taylor, political director for Dream Defenders, said in a statement. That dichotomy is what this election is ultimately about.

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In An Effort To Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws, Social Justice Group Creates Ad For Bulletproof Vests For Kids

Tillis even led the effort to pass the kind of Stand Your Ground laws that caused the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

radio ad sponsored by Senate Majority PAC, referring to Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis

This radio ad, captured by a conservative blogger, has inspired outrage in the closely fought election campaign between Sen. Kay Hagen (D) and Thom Tillis, the North Carolina house speaker. In response, the conservative American Commitment PAC has even run its own ads, accusing Democrats of race-hustling.

Senate Majority PAC, which is affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), did not respond to repeated queries about this ad, having apparently decided it is no longer necessary to respond to The Fact Checkers questions. But what evidence is there that a Stand Your Ground law caused the shooting of Trayvon Martin?

Martin was an unarmed 17-year-old African-American who was shot and killed in 2012 by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, who was acting as a self-appointed watchman in a gated community in Florida where Martin was living. Zimmerman claimed self-defense, but the killing spawned outrage, especially in the black community. Zimmerman faced murder charges from a special prosecutor appointed by Floridas governor, but was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges by a jury in 2013.

The key question is whether Floridas Stand Your Ground law which permits a person to meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she has reason to feel threatened in the confrontation was the cause of the shooting death. The controversial law was passed in 2005 with the help of the National Rifle Association and similar laws have been approved in nearly half of the states.

As a legal matter, Zimmermans attorney did not raise a stand your ground defense at the trial. But after the trial a juror acknowledged that jurors had discussed the self-defense law before finding Zimmerman not guilty. The law also changed the standard instructions to jurors in homicide cases, so that the judge said that Zimmerman had no duty to retreat and could stand his ground if he felt threatened. (The law may have also played a role in the initial failure of the local police to prosecute Zimmerman.)

But while that might have been a factor in the not-guilty verdict, even though it was not raised as a defense, that does not mean the law caused the killing, as the ad asserts. The actual cause relates to Zimmermans state of mind at the time of the shooting, including whether he aspired to become a law enforcement officer and whether he had engaged in racial profiling because of Martins race and even his attire (a hoodie). But those questions may never be satisfactorily answered.

Equally murky is Tillis role in North Carolinas 2011 passage of a Stand Your Ground law. Such laws were promoted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a limited-governmentgroup that offers model legislation for lawmakers to adopt. In 2011, ALEC named Tillis a legislator of the year, one of eight lawmakers to receive the honor. But the Raleigh News & Observer, which wrote extensively about ALEC, reported that Tillis had no role in promoting the self-defense law, other than to be an active member of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

As always, the burden of proof rests with the organization or candidate making a claim. It is telling that Senate Majority PAC does not bother to offer any defense of this radio ad. Perhaps it hoped it could slip this past reporters asking too many questions.

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Fact Checker: Was the Stand Your Ground law the cause of Trayvon Martins death?

Candidates for Fla. governor address stand your ground law
Florida Governor Rick Scott and Charlie Crist spoke about the controversial #39;stand your ground #39; law at Wednesday night #39;s debate. Subscribe to WESH on YouTube...

By: WESH 2 News

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Candidates for Fla. governor address stand your ground law - Video