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ALBANY Kaylin Gillis, the 20-year-old youth killed in a driveway shooting in Washington County in April, was repeatedly mentioned in a state Senate Codes Committee debate on a proposed Stand Your Ground law.

State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, is a co-sponsor of the proposed law that would eliminate a requirement that an individual facing a realistic threat must retreat before using force, including deadly force, in self-defense.

I will be opposing this bill mainly in the name of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who was shot twice after ringing the wrong doorbell (in Missouri) and Kaylin Gillis, who was shot after entering the wrong driveway, said Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, D-Manhattan, at the May 3 committee hearing, a video of which is posted on YouTube.

Contacted later, Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, who supports the proposed Stand Your Ground legislation, said the death of Gillis is not applicable to the legislation, because it was clear that Gillis did not pose a threat to Kevin Monahan, who fatally shot her.

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Gillis was a passenger in a car that turned around in Monahans driveway in Hebron when the group got lost.

I think it is clear that her party were not threatening to him, said Simpson, in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

The committee voted 9-4 against advancing the legislation S 1120 for further consideration in the Senate.

Friends of Kaylin Gillis cried as they gathered in Fort Hardy Park in Schuylerville on Thursday night to mourn the loss of the 2021 Schuylerville High School graduate.

I dont know that we need to be a Stand Your Ground state, in my opinion, at all, said Sen. Jamaal Bailey, D-Bronx, the committee chairman.

Sen. George Borrello, R-Hanover, the principal sponsor, told the committee that the legislation would allow the use of force in self-defense if the person threatened was lawfully in place.

This law is really about giving people the right to defend themselves, he said.

Borrello emphasized that under the proposed law there must be a reasonable eminent threat and the individual responding to the threat must be lawfully in place.

This is not about vigilantes running around. This is about defending yourself and your family, he said.

Borrello said perhaps the most significant change in the legislation would be in civil law.

It puts the burden on those that are trying to sue the person that there was not a justified use of force, versus the burden being on the person who defended themselves, he said.

Borrello said that 40 other states have so-called Stand Your Ground laws.

The decision to hold the man accused of shooting and killing 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in April, in jail without bail was upheld by a Warren County judge on Thursday morning.

Debate centered around whether the proposed law would increase or decrease deadly shootings.

Sen. Dean Murray, R-Long Island, a supporter of the legislation, said it would not increase unjustified shootings.

With or without this legislation, someone who is that deranged that is going to shoot someone for no reason it happened in Washington County, a young lady turning around in a guys driveway I dont think this law is the impetus for doing that, he said.

Murray criticized the handling of a case in which Jose Alba, a Manhattan bodega clerk was charged with murder after he grabbed a knife and stabbed an angry customer who jumped over the counter and pinned Alba to a wall.

The charge was later dismissed.

The message that was sent was: Youre not allowed to defend yourself. If you even try, you could be in trouble, Murray said.

Opponents of the proposed law said in Albas case, due diligence was done and it was determined the charge should be dropped.

Murray said the proposed law, on the other hand, would send the message that you are allowed to protect yourself. You are allowed to protect your family.

Supporters of the proposed legislation said it would be a deterrent to crime in New York City.

Sen. Roxanne Presaud, D-Brooklyn, said crime is an issue statewide.

I havent seen lately in New York City where someone took a wrong turn in someones driveway and someone came out and shot at a car with four people in it and killed a young woman because she turned into the wrong driveway. And it was not threat. They were driving away, she said.

Stec, who does not serve on the Codes Committee, did not return voice mail messages The Post-Star left on Tuesday and Thursday seeking comment for this report.

Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer.

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Washington County driveway killing raised in 'Stand Your Ground ... - The Post Star

On Thursday, April 13, in Kansas City, MO, 16-year-old Black male Ralph Yarl was shot by 84-year-old white male Andrew Lester on Lesters porch. Yarl mistakenly rang Lesters doorbell on Northeast 115th St. instead of his intended address of Northeast 115th Terrace.

Yarl was picking up his younger twin brothers from a friends home and went to the wrong house. Lester thought he was trying to break in and shot the young boy twice, once in the head through his homes glass door and once in the arm while he was on the ground after telling Yarl, Dont come back around here, according to NBC.

Yarl miraculously survived the traumatic brain injury he sustained from the first shot and ran three homes down the street before finding his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, who finally helped him.

Clay County, Missouri prosecutors filed two felony counts against the white homeowner: assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. Authorities are investigating whether or not Lester is protected under Missouris Stand Your Ground law.

Stand Your Ground laws are instated in at least 28 states. The law essentially says individuals have the right to use appropriate force, including deadly force, to protect themselves against an intruder in their home. However, this law is associated with higher homicide rates and disproportionately negatively affects the Black community because it leaves the danger levels up to the armed individual, even when there is none.

Missouri's own Stand Your Ground law states that a person may use deadly force to protect himself, or herself or her unborn child, or another against death, serious physical injury or any forcible felony.

This law also includes threats to property, which Lester attempted to use as his reason for using deadly force. Lester said he was scared to death and claimed to have seen a large, 6-foot Black male at his door. Lester claimed Yarl tried to enter his home, but there was no evidence because Lester fired shots through the door, according to Time Magazine.

In 2013, the Urban Institute conducted a study that analyzed the percentage of justified homicide cases from 2005 to 2010. The probability of a white person killing a Black person and the legal system considering it justified is 281% greater than a white person killing another white person.

Missouri attorney Bill Tacket said it seems unlikely Lester will be able to effectively use Stand Your Ground as a reason. The law would only have applied if Yarl threatened the mans safety. There was no real threat either and this will weaken Lesters possible defense, according to NBC.

He also claimed that violence was his last resort but was incredibly afraid because of Yarls size. In actuality, Yarl is 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds. These wild misinterpretations of Black young mens sizes are a vicious cycle and are used as an excuse when committing acts of violence against them.

In an American Psychological Association journal, the studys researchers asked participants to judge the size of Black men compared to white men of the same age range and size. The study participants saw Black men as larger and stronger than they were and gave Black children the characteristics of adults. This troubling discovery confirms the idea that violence against Black men is justified because they are deemed more dangerous than their white counterparts, according to APA.

In similar instances to what happened to Yarl, this racial bias is even more prevalent among law enforcement. In 2014, a police officer shot Black 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmens Association supported the officer by describing Rice as a 12-year-old in an adult body. That same year, police officer Darren Wilson killed Black 18-year-old Michael Brown. Brown compared the struggle with Wilson inside Browns vehicle before the deadly shooting to a 5-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan, according to the Washington Post.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas puts it perfectly when he said,People need to reassess their biases and fears and recognize that Black people are not villains, that Black kids are not a threat. There was no reason to fear this boy.

I have rung the wrong doorbell myself when picking up my own siblings from a friends house. It makes me sick to my stomach. This is something parents will have to teach their kids now: to not ring an unfamiliar homes doorbell. How will a child discern between a safe and unsafe home? How will a child never make the mistake of going to the wrong house again? Intruders do not ring doorbells, but that did not stop Lester from letting his racially motivated fear and prejudice from shooting first and thinking second.

Shooting should not be someones first instinct when faced with this situation. It is time to rethink our countrys dangerous and deeply ingrained racial stereotypes and gun rights.

Read more:
Ralph Yarl: Another victim of America's unjust racial bias and Stand ... - The Arkansas Traveler

Attorneys of former OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney alleged that evidence proved the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, Christian Obumseli, was in self-defense.

I think that the fact that the detective in this matter did not arrest her for four months while they investigated the case. Its very telling,saidFrank Prieto, one of Clenneys lawyers, in an interview withLaw & Crime published May 16.

According to the outlet, Prieto and the clients other lawyer, Sabrina Puglisi, argue that Clenney was a battered woman. The attorneys disclosed that three instances where Clenney was a victim in her relationship with Obumseli would be presented during trial.

The 26-year-olds lawyers called the lawsuit a money grab. Still, Obumselis family claimed there were over six instances between January to March 2022 wherein those around the couple called the police because of Clenneys alleged behavior toward their late loved one.

The forensic evidence is clear that Christian was not an aggressor in any way and that theres one aggressor in this case, said Obumseli family representative Michael Haggard.

Obumselis killing allegedly came after an argument between him and Clenney in an apartment complex in Miamis Edgewater neighborhood. Prosecutors alleged that Clenney once said, I really dont know if this was justified at all regarding her decision to stab Obumseli. The 26-year-old has reportedly offered inconsistent statements about the fatal incident.

Miami-Dade law enforcement officialschargedthe former OnlyFans model with second-degree murder in August 2022.

She currently remains behind bars without bail as she awaits her trial. A status conference will go down in July, but a trial date hasnt been set.

According to Floridas Stand Your Ground law [Section 776.012], a state citizen is justifiedin using deadly force as a means of self-defense if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony or to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.

Read more about the case below.

RELATED CONTENT:Christian Obumselis Texts And Recordings Reveal Girlfriend Courtney Clenneys History Of Racist Rants, Beatings & Stabbings

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Attorneys Of OnlyFans Model Courtney Clenney Claim She Stabbed Boyfriend To Death In Self-Defense - MadameNoire

Its been five years since a boy fatally shot 10 people and wounded 13 others at Santa Fe High School in Texas, and despite an ongoing outcry from the victims and local residents, along with calls for stricter gun measures, lawmakers have done nothing to improve the states mass shooting crisis, critics say.

On Thursday morning the fifth grim anniversary of the shooting President Joe Biden remembered the victims and called out Congress for failing to pass any significant gun control legislation.

One of the lasting tragedies of the shooting at Santa Fe High School and too many other devastating school shootings is the refusal by Congressional Republicans to enact meaningful legislation to stop gun violence, part of Bidens statement says. Guns are the number one killer of kids in America, and its within our power to stop this epidemic. Yet, from Columbine to Newtown to Parkland to Uvalde to Nashville and so many other shootings in between, our schools are routinely scenes of gun violence instead of the safe spaces they should be.

Biden went on to say that he is trying to maximize the impact of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expands background checks and establishes new criminal offenses.

Little has been done to enact gun control since the mass shooting, especially in Texas. Since the Santa Fe mass shooting, Texas has been the site of some of the countrys highest-profile massacres, including the one in Uvalde that killed 21 peoplea year ago and, most recently, the one at an outlet mall inAllen, north of Dallas, that left nine people dead. Still, lawmakers tweeted their condolences for the Santa Fe families but didnt offer any plans for gun control.

GOP Rep. Randy Weber, who represents Santa Fe in Congress, tweeted Thursday that the Santa Fe mass shooting forever changed the city.

Today marks the 5-year anniversary of the shooting at Santa Fe High School, where 10 innocent lives were lost at the hands of evil, Weber tweeted. We will never forget that tragic day that forever changed Santa Fe, Texas.

Weber spoke on the House floor Thursday, saying there are steps to secure Texas schools without infringing on our citizens Second Amendment rights, such as enhancing school security systems and hiring retired police officers to serve as school resource officers.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted he would double the number of police officers at schools to keep students safe.

Five years ago today, Santa Fe was shaken to its core and forever changed, Cruz tweeted. Eight beautiful, young lives and two dedicated educators were taken from us and many others were injured in a tragic act of evil.

I will continue fighting to enhance school security and to double the number of police officers on campus to keep our children safe.

Rhonda Hart, whose daughter, Kimberly, was killed in the Santa Fe shooting, tweeted on Wednesday that Texas politicians dont care about gun control.

As tomorrow is the five year mark I feel need to say this: Cruz, Abbott, Patrick, and [Weber] have done nothing for families of Santa Fe, she tweeted.

Dan Patrick, Texas lieutenant governor, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did not put out statements. Abbotts Twitter feed was full of tweets about reckless open border policies.

Allison Anderman, senior counsel of Giffords, an organization fighting for gun safety, told HuffPost that Texas has a lot of mass shootings because of its population, guns per capita and its extremely weak laws that create more gun violence, including a Stand Your Ground law that emboldens people to shoot first and ask questions later.

In Texas, gun laws have expanded the areas where people can openly carry firearms, including at airport baggage claims, in parking areas and at houses of worship.

The state legislature is still dominated by people who are very extreme on the issue of guns, so until the state elects different people to represent them, people who want to make a change on this issue and are unwilling to accept the status quo of doing nothing, then its going to be an uphill battle, Anderman said.

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5 Years After A Mass Shooting At Santa Fe High In Texas, Critics Say Lawmakers Have Done Little - HuffPost

Washington, D.C. U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) and U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) will introduce the National Stand Your Ground Act of 2023 in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, respectively. These bills would codify Floridas Stand Your Ground law at the federal level, abolishing the duty of retreat when attacked. Rep. Gaetzs House legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) and Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09).

Every American has the right to defend themselves and their loved ones from an attacker. If someone tries to kill you, you should have the right to return fire and preserve your life. Its time to reaffirm in law what exists in our Constitution and in the hearts of our fellow Americans. We must abolish the legal duty of retreat everywhere, Congressman Gaetz said.

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) filed the companion National Stand Your Ground legislation in the Senate this afternoon.

States like Oklahoma and Florida recognize that in some cases, the use of lethal force is justified to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm. Every American should have the right to defend himself or herself against imminent threats to personal safety without the duty to retreat. Im proud to introduce the Stand Your Ground Act in the Senate to codify these commonsense self-defense protections for all law-abiding Americans, Senator Mullin said.

Full text of Rep. Gaetzs Stand Your Ground Act of 2023 can be found HERE. Additionally, exclusive coverage of the Stand Your Ground bills by Rep. Gaetz and Senator Mullin on Fox News can be found HERE.

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Congressman Gaetz, Senator Mullin Introduce National Stand Your Ground Act - Congressman Matt Gaetz