By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Eight months after public outcry over the slaying of an unarmed Florida teenager spurred Gov. Rick Scott to appoint a task force to examine his state’s controversial “Stand-Your-Ground” law, that committee has posted a draft report that does not recommend any sweeping changes, and expresses support for the citizen’s right of self-defense.
The final report will be out in December, according to the cover sheet.
According to the document, available on the state website, the task force held seven public meetings across the state, heard from “a broad array of relevant subject matter experts,” received 550 phone calls, 9,000 pieces of correspondence, heard 140 comments from the public and gathered another 60 comment cards.
The task force was headed by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and held meetings in Tallahassee, Longwood, Arcadia, West Palm Beach, Cutler Bay, Jacksonville and Pensacola. It was at the final hearing in Pensacola when Joe Waldron, legislative director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told the task force that the law isn’t broken, so “don’t fix it.”
The two leading recommendations from the task force are:
- The Task Force concurs with the core belief that all persons, regardless of citizenship status, have a right to feel safe and secure in our state. To that end, all persons have a fundamental right to stand their ground and defend themselves from attack with proportionate force in every place they have a lawful right to be and are conducting themselves in a lawful manner.
- The Task Force recommends the Legislature examine the term “Unlawful Activity” as used in Chapter 776, Florida Statutes and provide a statutory definition to provide clarity to all persons, regardless of citizenship status, and to law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the judiciary.
According to the draft document, the task force heard from citizens, prosecutors and defense attorneys who all contended that while the law was well-intended, “is not always fairly and equitably applied across the state.”
“The Task Force heard examples of specific self-defense cases where individuals felt the law was not fairly applied,” the draft document states. “Although the Task Force’s mission was not to retry individual cases, there was enough evidence presented to suggest that education among the parties including law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, the judiciary, and the citizens of the State of Florida could contribute to a more uniform, just, and fair application of the law.”
Following the February shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, in the community of Sanford, anti-gunners and civil rights activists launched an effort to repeal the Sunshine State’s 7-yerar-old Stand Your Ground law. From all indications, that’s not going to happen.
Martin was he black teen that President Barack Obama infamously suggested would look like a son of his. He was killed in a physical confrontation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who now faces a second-degree murder charge.
The draft report notes that the task force heard testimony from a neighborhood watch volunteer and private security companies about standards for neighborhood watch groups. What the task force learned was that there are no strict, uniform standards for such groups.
“The standards for neighborhood watch groups ranged from the loosely organized to sophisticated organizations that employed written policies and procedures and strict standards for volunteers,” the draft report reveals. “The Task Force learned through these presentations that neighborhood watch volunteers are residents of their respective communities who volunteer their time; however, there are usually no requirements to participate or training provided to them. This could result in occurrences of volunteers acting outside the scope of the intent of neighborhood watch, which is to observe and report only.”
The fact that Zimmerman was armed that night raised eyebrows in the wake of the shooting, because neighborhood watch operations frown on carrying firearms. Zimmerman apparently was running errands when he spotted Martin, and he did call the police. What actually happened during the minutes of the confrontation will be sorted out in court, but when police arrived, they did find Zimmerman had sustained bloody head injuries
The task force does recommend that the legislature review applicable standards for recognized neighborhood watch groups. This would include defining the limitations of such groups to be “observing, watching, and reporting potential criminal activity to law enforcement.”
“The participant’s purpose is not to pursue, confront, or provoke potential suspects,” the report says.
The task force also recommends that authorities increase training and education regarding self-defense laws in the state, to “ensure uniform and fair application.”
