The Congressional Black Caucus, an all-black, all-Democratic group of 42 U.S. Senators and Representatives, is moving to repeal the NRA’s “Stand Your Ground” laws in every state, including Florida, where it was used by George Zimmerman to evade prosecution of the murder of Trayvon Martin.
“The Congressional Black Caucus unveiled a resolution on Wednesday that honors the life of Trayvon Martin and calls for the repeal of ‘Stand Your Ground’ gun laws in every state that has one, including Florida, where Martin was killed,” The Huffington Post reports:
“Florida’s misguided ‘Stand Your Ground’ law does not make our streets safer, rather it turns our streets into a showdown at the OK Corral,” Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a sponsor of the resolution, said in a statement. “But this is not the Wild West. We are supposed to be a civilized society. Let Trayvon’s death not be for naught. Let us honor his life by righting this wrong, and seeing that justice is served for Trayvon and his family. George Zimmerman must be prosecuted for his admitted shooting of Trayvon Martin and the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law must be repealed.”
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The resolution, symbolic but not legally binding, indirectly criticizes the National Rifle Association for pushing Stand Your Ground state laws around the country. It also calls on state legislatures to reject similar legislation and “urges the repeal of the Stand Your Ground law in every applicable state, including Florida.”
The NRA, National Rifle Association, is widely criticized for crafting and pushing “Stand Your Ground” legislation across the nation.
“The NRA lobbied for ‘Stand Your Ground’ in the past and has yet to comment on the controversy surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a case in which Florida’s version of the law could play a pivotal role if it ever goes to trial,” ABC News reports:
The pro-gun group championed the passage of the original law in Florida back in 2004 and lobbied to pass similar legislation in other states, according to the Center for Public Integrity.  In light of the recent controversy, the NRAhas stalled its lobbying efforts in to pass the law in Alaska, according to Bloomberg News.
“Stand Your Groundâ€Â laws state that a person can use lethal force if that person feels at all threatened. Versions of the law have been passed in 25 states, but Florida’s is considered to be the most aggressive.
McClatchy, too, has a good story on Stand Your Ground.
The Congressional Black Caucus is to be commended for making the first move to highlight the Stand Your Ground laws, but the real problem, as we at The New Civil Rights Movement have said time and time again, is guns.
10,000 Americans are killed every year by gun violence, and many of them are children, Trayvon Martin’s age, and far younger. By comparison, more Americans are killed by guns in one weekend than all year long across the U.K.
America, you have a gun problem. Wake up.