Stand Your Ground Means Shoot First !
Tell Missouri Legislature :
Stop Stand Your Ground !
Dear friend,
The NRA and conservatives want Missouri to become the first "Stand Your Ground" state since the killing of Trayvon Martin.
In May the state legislature passed Senate Bill 656.1 It’s a bill that would loosen Missouri’s gun laws and add a “Stand Your Ground” component. This bill claims to allow for “self protection” but it’s really a “kill at will bill”.
'Stand Your Ground' played a major role in the case of Trayvon Martin. This is the same law that helped George Zimmerman get away with killing Trayvon in 2012.2 This law is extremely dangerous, ineffective and a slap in the face to the Black community in Missouri. The Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, even vetoed the bill after it passed through the house because of how ridiculous it is.3
Stand Your Ground is infamously known as a “shoot first” law. In states where this law already exists, Whites who kill Black folks are 354 times more likely to be found justified than if they killed another White person.
It’s clear that Stand Your Ground laws primarily protect white people, especially when Black folks are on the other side of the gun.
After Florida passed its Stand Your Ground law, its justifiable homicide rate tripled but the law was not applied equally when it came to Black people.4 Marissa Alexander is a Black woman from Jacksonville, Florida who fired a warning shot because her husband threatened to kill her on August 1, 2010.5 She was prosecuted and sentenced to 20 years for defending herself and killing no one. Meanwhile George Zimmerman actually killed 17 year old Trayvon and was found not guilty.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Scott, Arisha, Enchanta, Malaya and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
References :
1. "‘Stand your ground’ law wins Missouri Senate approval," The Kansas City Star 05.13.2016
2. "Actually, Stand Your Ground Played a Major Role in the Trayvon Martin Case," Mother Jones 07.18.2013
3. "Nixon vetoes constitutional carry bill; GOP vows to attempt override," The Missouri Times 06.27.2016
4. "Self-defense deaths in Florida have increased dramatically since 'stand your ground' became law in 2005, lawmaker claims," PolitiFact Florida 03.26.2012
5. "In Her Own Words: Marissa Alexander Tells Her Story," Essence 05.04.2015
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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