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As a South Shore resident for 15 years, a constituent of the 25th representative district, and a renter, I am compelled to respond to Rep. Tarvers recently published comments in the last issue of the Hyde Park Herald.

To begin with, rent control works. There are a number of recent studies from the University of Southern California, Columbia Business School, Stanford University, and others that highlight the ability for residents to remain in their homes and communities - while also allowing real estate development to flourish.

Secondly, the legislation Rep. Tarver voted against would simply allow municipalities to debate the merits and shortcomings of rent control as one of many tools to address the crisis of housing insecurity in a state where 1 out of every 2 households is housing cost-burdened; i.e. paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

Public debate is one of the core tenets of a democracy. Denying local lawmakers the opportunity to explore all of the options at their disposal is simply irresponsible; especially when there are communities throughout Illinois where 1 out every 3 renter is paying more than half of every dollar they earn on rent.

Third, the legislation that didnt advance for a vote in the committee where Rep. Tarver sits, which would regulate rents statewide, would not disincentivize development no more than real estate development has been disincentivized in any of the municipalities that have had rent controlled properties for decades. Nor would the proposed legislation prohibit landlords from being able to cover increases in taxes or fees because those contingencies are written into the legislation. Neither would the proposed legislation create more unaffordable rents as an unintended consequence because the legislation calls for all residential rental property to be regulated.

Its unfortunate that Rep. Tarver would rather hide behind disingenuous comments that seek to obscure the facts. The fact is that despite voicing full-throated support for rent control while campaigning, after the election, he repeatedly denied requests to meet with members of the Lift the Ban coalition; informing them he would rather wait to hear the information presented in the committee at the time of the vote. It was only after he killed the bill in the committee did he schedule a phone call with coalition representatives.

If Rep. Tarver currently opposes rent control against the needs of his constituents, thats clearly his political prerogative. However, it is wholly undemocratic to support legislation introduced into our state legislature by the American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC), and prohibit city councils and county boards from acting responsibly to meet the needs of their residents.

ALEC, by the way, is the same right wing special interest group that promoted the Stand Your Ground law that George Zimmerman used in defending himself against murdering Trayvon Martin in Florida.

Whether Chicago has rent control should be the purview of Illinois municipalities. Do the right thing Rep. Tarver and allow democracy to take place. Support the repeal of the Rent Control Preemption Act, and empower local lawmakers to decide if rent control works.

Continue reading here:
Do the right thing, Rep. Tarver | Letters To Editor | hpherald.com - Hyde Park Herald

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) -- UPDATE (03/02/2020):It's a bar fight that turned deadly. Ocala Police are investigating a shooting at the Jade Lounge over the weekend.

When police arrived at the bar, they found three wounded men in the parking lot.

Officers were able to review security footage of the incident.

On the video, which OPD is not yet releasing, the three men can be seen approaching another man sitting at the bar.

One of the men punched the man at the bar, the other two joined in and pushed him to the ground.

That's when he pulled out a gun and started shooting at his attackers.

"These people were familiar with each other. The extent of their familiarity is unknown to the public right now. It is still an on-going investigation. We're looking into a few details. We do know that this was a provoked shooting, OPD Public Information Officer, Corie Byrd said.

One of the three men, 56-year-old James Wallace died in this incident.

The two other men were taken to hospitals and are recovering well, officials said as they did not have any life-threatening injuries.

The shooter fled in a gold-colored sedan but officers were able to locate him quickly and he was detained.

"We're not looking at charges right now. There will be an update because we are still reviewing evidence as far as self-defense or stand your ground law goes, Byrd added.

Investigators have not released the name of the person who was detained until they determine which charges to file against him.

UPDATE (03/01/2020):One of the three victims of the shooting, 56-year-old James Wallace, has died from his injuries.

Police say the suspect was quickly apprehended after the incident at the Jade Lounge, but have not yet released their identity.

ORIGINAL STORY:Three people have been injured after a shooting at a North Central Florida bar Saturday evening.

Officers with Ocala Police Department responded to a call about a shooting at the Jade Lounge, located at Northeast Jacksonville Road, around 5:30 p.m.

Police say three people were shot after a fight broke out and they were taken to local hospitals.

Authorities did not give a description of the gunman.

More here:
One of three victims in Ocala bar shooting now dead, suspect in custody - WCJB

News

Wednesday, February 26th 2020, 5:22 PM CST

SAND SPRINGS, Oklahoma - Sand Springs Police are investigating after a homeowner shot a man in his front yard.

The shooter told police he found a man sitting inside his girlfriends car. Now it'll be up to the district attorney to determine who could face charges in this case.

Before I even got to the door, I heard somebody yelling he shot me, he shot me, said Ted Bush.

Bush said he and his wife were watching a movie when they heard a single gunshot.Bush said he went outside to see what happened and heard two people yelling across the street.

"The neighbor on this side called 911, my wife called 911 and I think even the guy who shot him called 911, said Bush.

Sand Springs Police said they got to the home near 5th and Main around 7:30 Tuesday night and found a man holding down 28-Year-Old Brent Sloan down. They said it all started when a woman went outside to start her car and found Sloan sitting inside, so she yelled to her boyfriend to help.

"He chased him around the block and ended up back in front of the house then they got in a fight, said Captain Enzbrenner.

Captain Todd Enzbrenner said the homeowner told officers Sloan lunged at him while he was holding him at gunpoint, so he shot Sloan in the leg.

Enzbrenner said there's a stand your ground law in Oklahoma, but the victim must be in fear for their life.

Homeowners have a right to protect their property, but to use deadly force they have to be in imminent danger, said Captain Enzbrenner.

Enzbrenner said if someone is breaking into your home, he encourages you not to confront them and instead call the police.

"Call us and let us come take care of it. If you do have the means to hold them down thats fine, but remember the danger you're putting yourself in, said Enzbrenner.

Sloan is in the hospital right now but will eventually be booked for breaking into a car. Police said he stole a tool kit out of the car.

News On 6 asked the homeowner if he would like to share his side of the story, and he denied our request for an interview.

Read the original here:
Police Investigating Shooting In Sand Springs Neighborhood - News On 6

Q: What does the Idaho stand your ground law give me the right to do, in particular in utilizing a firearm?

A: Homicide is the killing of a human being. The killing of a human being is legally justified or excused under the law when done in self-defense, or the defense of another. A person may use such degree and extent of force as would appear to be reasonably necessary to prevent the threatened harm.

People often wonder if using a firearm in self-defense is legal. People worry that by using a firearm they may end up in trouble. In Idaho, people may use a firearm in self-defense so long as it is reasonable.

For example, if someone comes up to a person while in their car, and verbally orders them to get out because they are going to steal the car, that person would likely not be justified in killing them with a gun. On the other hand, if a person is sleeping and an intruder enters their home, and while holding a knife charges them, and the person kills the intruder with a firearm; under those circumstances the person likely would be justified in using a firearm in self-defense.

Any use of force, whether with a firearm or not, beyond the reasonableness limit is against the law and is considered unjustified. Therefore, a person is not justified in using a degree of force clearly in excess of what is apparent and reasonably necessary under the existing facts and circumstances.

In Idaho there is also no legal duty to retreat. In the exercise of the right of self-defense, a person is not required to retreat, they may stand their ground to protect themselves or to protect another. Additionally, a person may continue to defend themselves until the threat or danger dissipates, so long as it is reasonable. This law applies even though the person being attacked or defended might more easily have gained safety by retreating.

Its easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened, opposed to having to make a reactionary split-second decision. Reasonableness is determined by what an ordinary person would do if they were placed in the same situation, what they were actually perceiving, what they actually saw, and what they experienced in the same way as it was happening.

The state of Idaho has a long-standing precedent of recognizing a citizens right to self-defense. This right includes the use of deadly force when necessary. The law requires the use of reasonable force in defending oneself or in the defense of another.

E. Alex Muir is a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Bonneville County. This column is provided by the 7th District Bar Association as a public service. Submit questions to "It's the Law," P.O. Box 50130, Idaho Falls, ID 83405, or by email to rfarnam@holdenlegal.com. This column is for general information. Readers with specific legal questions should consult an attorney. A lawyer referral service is provided by calling the Idaho State Bar Association in Boise at 208-334-4500.

Link:
It's the law: Know your rights to 'stand your ground' - Post Register

Alec, the rightwing network that brings conservative lawmakers together with corporate lobbyists to create model legislation that is cloned across the US, has been accused of spreading racist and white supremacist policies targeted at minority communities.

A report published on Tuesday by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and other advocacy groups charges Alec with propagating white supremacy.

In one of the sharpest criticisms yet levelled at the controversial bill mill, the authors warn that conservative and corporate interests have captured our political process to harness profit, further entrench white supremacy in the law, and target the safety, human rights and self-governance of marginalised communities.

The publication comes on the eve of the latest gathering of Alec, officially known as the American Legislative Exchange Council, which will be attended by hundreds of largely Republican state-level legislators and their big business allies.

The four-day States & Nation Policy Summit will open at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday with an agenda touching on several of Alecs core principles including election integrity, privatisation of education and support for homeschooling, and protection for pharmaceutical companies.

Watchdogs have also learned of a dinner to be held on Wednesday and jointly hosted by Alec and the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBT coalition devoted to re-criminalising homosexuality in the US in the name of Christianity.

The Alec summit will be picketed by protesters convened by organisations at the forefront of the race equality movement such as Black Lives Matter and Puente Arizona. The demonstrators will seek to highlight one of the most contentious legislative moves made by Alec: 2010 Arizona law SB1070, which heralded the most extreme crackdown on undocumented migrants then seen in the US under a model bill drafted at an Alec conference the previous year.

The report, produced by CCR with Dream Defenders, Palestine Legal, the Red Nation and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, calls Alec a highly effective incubator and platform for spreading a broad swath of corporate and conservative policies.

The network, it says, amounts to a shadow state apparatus in which private industry seizes control of the authority of the state, writing legislation and public policy for the general public behind the closed doors of a CEO suite.

To support its contention that Alec is responsible for strengthening white supremacy, the joint report cites four of the networks most hotly disputed policy interventions.

The first are the Stand Your Ground laws that became notorious after the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was shot by George Zimmerman in a gated community in Florida.

In 2005, Florida had passed a Castle Doctrine law, SB 436, that extended the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force to anyone in any public place who reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm.

The law was picked up by Alec and turned into a model bill that, as the report points out, has now been adopted in some form in 27 states.

Alec insists it has never backed legislation allowing gun owners to attack people who pose no imminent threat and that it no longer lends its name to any stand your ground law.

The joint report argues the damage has already been done.

It cites studies that show that states that have adopted such laws are much more likely to rule homicides justifiable in cases of white-on-black killings than states that have not adopted such laws.

The second example used in the report is voter ID bills that require proof of identity in order to vote. CCR and its co-authors locate these efforts as part of the long history in the US of attempts to disenfranchise people of colour.

In 2009 Alec approved a voter ID act produced by one of its task forces that devise new model legislation. The provision required voters to show certain forms of personal identification before being allowed to cast their ballot.

Some 35 states now have voter ID laws. Numerous studies have found that non-white voters are much more likely than whites to lack photographic identification, and therefore face discrimination where ID is made a condition of voting.

Alec has distanced itself publicly from voter suppression efforts and says it now has no policy on voter ID.

Bill Meierling, Alecs head of external relations, told the Guardian: Alec members advance individual liberty and free enterprise across the states, creating opportunity for a better life for all Americans.

He added: Alec is routinely targeted because its member legislators are nearly 300% as effective as any other group of elected officials. In fact, this year, USA Today reported that of 10,000 bills analyzed in state legislatures from 2010-2018, 2,900 were based on Alec model policy and more than 600 became law.

The other examples of measures allegedly supporting white supremacy cited in the joint report are critical infrastructure bills that originated with a 2017 law introduced in Oklahoma to clamp down on indigenous and other protesters against the Dakota Access pipeline.

Alec turned the Oklahoma template into a model bill that has spread through the US, threatening indigenous protesters with fines and jail time.

The final Alec intervention cited by the authors concerns moves to combat the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to pressure Israel to abide by international human rights laws.

As the Guardian reported last month, Alec has hosted discussions on banning criticism of Israel on US campuses.

Read more here:
Rightwing bill mill accused of sowing racist and white supremacist policies - The Guardian