Trayvon Amendment Withdrawn by Democrats
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.08.12
House Democrats have announced that they will withdraw a federal level amendment to the Commerce Department spending bill that would work towards overturning stand-your-ground self-defense laws in states like Florida.
A major proponent of the bill, Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, has said he will seek a debate later at a more appropriate time. He went on to say that shootings like those of Trayvon Martin demand action.
The Ellison amendment reads:
Provided, That upon a determination by the Attorney General that a State has in effect a law allowing an armed person to confront an unarmed person in public and shoot to kill even if the confrontation could have been safely avoided, the Attorney General shall withhold 20 percent of the amount that would otherwise be allocated to that State under section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755).
In simpler terms it would withhold federal funds from the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant to states with stand-your-ground laws. Byrne Justice Grants fund programs ranging from law enforcement to drug treatment programs and prosecutors’ offices.
Stand-your-ground laws as commonly defined allow a person to use force in self-defense when they believe there is a reasonable threat to themselves, without an obligation to retreat first. Some laws extend this provision to public areas. They are similar to “Castle doctrine” laws, which state that a person has no duty to retreat when their home is attacked.
Ellison, along with his co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, Raul Grijalva, Democrat Arizona, had this to say in a prepared about the bill: “Shoot first laws have already cost too many lives. In Florida alone, deaths due to self-defense have tripled since the law was enacted. Federal money shouldn’t be spent supporting states with laws that endanger their own people. This is no different than withholding transportation funds from states that don’t enforce seatbelt laws.”
Proponents of stand-your-ground legislation argue that they simply enable lawful persons in threatening situations to adequately exercise their right of self-defense, highlighting cases such as that of a Georgia grandmother who defended herself against attackers in her grandson’s driveway.
Trayvon Martin, the namesake of the proposed amendment, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman on February 26 and the case has sparked a great deal of controversy among the public, media, and all levels of government. Zimmerman has been charged with murder in the second degree. He is currently released on bail and is required to wear an electronic monitoring device until his trial.
