Shoot First - Ask Questions Later
TALLAHASSEE -- Warning that Florida streets have the potential to morph into the O.K. Corral, gun-control advocates will launch an international campaign to alert travelers about a new state law that allows people to use deadly force in self-defense.
On Saturday it will become legal to use force on an attacker without first trying to escape the confrontation.
Supporters say the measure, which they dub the "Stand Your Ground" law, allows residents to protect themselves by meeting force with force.
Opponents, who call it the "Shoot First Law," warn it could hand itchy trigger fingers a license to kill.
"It's a particular risk faced by travelers coming to Florida for a vacation because they have no idea it's going to be the law of the land," said Peter Hamm, communications director of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "If they get into a road rage argument, the other person may feel he has the right to use deadly force."
In a flier the group plans to pass out at Miami International Airport and possibly Orlando International Airport, tourists will be admonished to take precautions that include: "Do not argue unnecessarily with local people." Newspapers ads, billboards and the Internet will also be used to spread the word.
Championed by the National Rifle Association, the law makes it legal for someone to use deadly force against anyone who unlawfully or forcefully enters their home or car -- even if they are not being attacked.
Marion Hammer, president of Unified Sportsmen of Florida and a former NRA president, said the fearmongers are off-base. She said the new law seals the existing right of residents to protect their homes by shooting intruders, a concept known as the Castle Doctrine that dates back to the 1400s. But it extends that right to public places if people feel threatened with death or bodily harm.
The law was needed, she contends, because Florida prosecutors and courts have imposed a duty to retreat on law-abiding people who are attacked by criminals.
"When they take away your basic rights and freedoms, every once in a while you have to take it back. No law-abiding citizen should be forced to retreat from an attacker ... in their homes or any place they have a legal right to be," Hammer said.
"Under existing law, you have a duty to try to run and maybe get chased down and beaten to death," she added. "Now, if you have a knife, firearm or pepper spray, you can use force to protect yourself."
Willie Meggs, who was president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association when the Legislature considered the bill this spring, said it solves a problem that doesn't exist.
"We may not have any problems with it and if we don't, that's fine," said Meggs, the state attorney for Leon County. "But what I worry about, and I don't know if it will come to fruition, is that people who should be prosecuted will have a defense for using force when they didn't need to."
In signing the bill into law last spring, Gov. Jeb Bush defended the measure, saying it "defies common sense" to force people to retreat when they're in a life-threatening situation.
The Brady Campaign, established by former presidential spokesman Jim Brady and his wife Sarah, plans to aggressively advertise on the Internet to warn out-of-state tourists. Hamm said that as of Wednesday when the phrase "Florida Vacation" is typed onto some search engines a link to www.shootfirstlaw.org will pop up.
The group is also running ads in the travel sections of the Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune and likely some London newspapers beginning Sunday. They will also be putting up billboards in places where they can be easily seen by tourists and passing out airport fliers in English and Spanish.
"The biggest myth in Florida is [that] this is about protecting people who use legitimate self-defense," Hamm said. "This law ... sends a message to people who are potentially unstable and have an itchy trigger finger that as long as they can make a reasonable case they were in fear, they can use deadly force against somebody."
The measure had overwhelming support in the Legislature, where it passed the Senate in a 39-0 vote and the House, 94-20.
"We're the wild, wild West and I think criminals will abuse it," said Rep. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, one of the few who voted against the measure. "There will be more street fights ... especially if there is a criminal element in a certain area, [and] they won't hesitate to use their guns."
Nonsense, said Hammer, saying the law will now do what most people thought it already did.
"Most people know you can't chase somebody down the street and shoot them," she said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...home-headlines
To some extent, i actually think this law i okay however, on the other hand, i can certainly see how it has the huge potential to be abused also.
I remember a few years ago there was this farmer in the UK who shot some kid after he broke in to the farmers house, from what i recall, the farmer got charged with either manslaughter or murder and ended up spending time in prison for defending his property.
With things the way they are atm politically in the U.S do you think this law should have been passed or, is this going to cause us more problems than solutions?
Regards,
Lee
