By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
The final public hearing of the Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection, which has been examining Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting, was held in Pensacola and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms told the panel that the law does not need fixing.
CCRKBA Legislative Director Joe Waldron was the first of five speakers to testify. He told the task force, chaired by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, that the state law has stood for seven years.
“But after that single incident nine months ago,” Waldron observed, “we’re told Florida’s stand-you-ground law is terribly flawed, and should be repealed or at least restricted severely…Laws should not be made – or repealed – based on a single, anecdotal incident.”
The task force is supposed to present a report in December, but Waldron told TGM that the State Legislature is under no obligation to act on any recommendations.
CCRKBA Legislative Director Joe Waldron
In the months since Martin was killed in a confrontation with George Zimmerman, tempers have cooled somewhat about the law. Stand-Your-Ground (SYG) statutes have been adopted in 24 states, including Florida, and during his testimony, Waldron noted that in several other states, the legal concept has been upheld by court rulings.
Under SYG, there is no duty to retreat in the face of an imminent attack. The victim may stand his or her ground and fight back with whatever level of force is necessary to prevent grave bodily harm or death.
The Florida law came under immediate attack after Martin’s death. He was killed in February while walking through a neighborhood in Sanford, where Zimmerman was involved in the neighborhood watch program. In that confrontation, Zimmerman called police but before they arrived, there was a physical confrontation during which Zimmerman—who is now charged with second-degree murder—suffered head injuries that left him with scalp cuts.
Martin was unarmed and reportedly on his way back to his father’s house from a snack run. It still has not been made clear exactly what occurred that night, but Zimmerman has claimed self-defense.
“In all 50 states,” Waldron told the task force, “if you are subjected to a potentially lethal attack or one that poses the risk of serious bodily injury, you have the right of self-defense, up to and including the use of lethal force.”
He quoted the late Associate Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who once wrote, “…detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.”
Waldron, who also serves as legislative director of the Florida Sport Shooting Association, told the panel that “it is not terribly clear in my mind that stand-your-ground applies in the Zimmerman-Martin incident.”
A retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, Waldron has served on juries and as a military magistrate. He told the task force that, “It’s for a jury to determine the facts of that case, and to find accordingly.”
The task force was created by Gov. Rick Scott in response to the public outcry following the Martin incident.
