Stand Your Ground

"Stand your ground is the dumbest law ever put on the books."

Wille Meggs, Florida State Attorney.

The people responsible for the Stand Your Ground law are former Gov. Jeb Bush and NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer. Bush signed Stand Your Ground into law in 2005. Hammer has defended the law.

"The law was written very carefully and it means what it says: You have a right to protect yourself," she said.

Florida elected Republicans are terrified of Hammer's wrath. Hammer pushed a bill that allowed citizens to take guns into the state capital. In an environment where Gabrielle Giffords is shot by an enraged citizen how is this a good idea? Security is not even allowed to ask if someone is carrying a gun in the capital. Florida Republican legislators are willing to place their lives at risk because they fear a lobbyist. That is insane.

Which brings us to the Trayvon Martin tragedy. Mother Jones has audio of the 911 calls made to the dispatchers. George Zimmerman was told by a dispatcher not to go after Martin.

"Are you following him? the dispatcher asked. Zimmerman replied: "Yep."

"Okay, we don't need to do that," the dispatcher warned.

Zimmerman ignored the dispatcher. People in the neighborhood called about a man on top of another person. There was screaming that didn't sound like Zimmerman's voice. The end result was Martin being shot to death.

Zimmerman is currently a free man. Zimmerman said he was standing his ground and felt threatened by a 14 year-old boy.