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Lucy McBath 11:19 a.m. ET March 28, 2017

Lucy McBath is the Faith and Outreach Leader for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.(Photo: File)

The Florida House will soon vote on a bill that would expand the states already-deadly Stand Your Ground law. These laws embolden individuals to shoot first and ask questions later rather than encourage people to de-escalate their conflicts through peaceful means and walk away when safe to do so.

Research shows that Floridas current iteration was associated with an increase in firearm homicides, and while these types of laws put all of us at risk, they have a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

I understand this painful reality all too well. My son, Jordan Davis, was just 17 years old when he was shot and killed by an older white man during a dispute over loud music at a Jacksonville gas station. Jordan and his friends were all unarmed. My sons killer was not.

Research shows that when white shooters kill black victims, the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable 11 times more frequently than when the shooter is black and the victim is white. Additionally, Florida Stand Your Ground cases with minority victims are half as likely to lead to conviction, compared with cases that involve white victims.

Since Jordans murder, Ive dedicated my life to honoring his memory by telling his story and working to make sure no other parent experiences the pain of having a child stolen from them through gun violence. I, along with Florida members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and other gun violence survivors, will continue to speak out against this bill and all other dangerous bills that put our communities at risk.

Floridas Stand Your Ground already gives untrained civilians more leeway to shoot than the U.S. military gives its soldiers in war zones. Now, SB 128 would expand the law by effectively requiring criminal defendants who raise a Stand Your Ground defense to be convicted twice once by a judge and once by a jury.

This new bill would shift the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground pretrial hearings from defendants to prosecutors, forcing the state to prove a shooter acted unlawfully before it even brings a case to trial. This would make it easier for gun criminals to elude justice. It would also create an insurmountable backlog of cases for prosecutors, and stretch already-thin resources without allocating any more funding to that state agency.

Simply put, these types of laws do not deter crime. They allow individuals to shoot and kill others in public places even when they can clearly and safely walk away from the conflict.

We should focus on keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people not passing laws that turn everyday confrontations into deadly shootouts.

Floridians deserve better than this. Jordans memory deserves better than this. Trayvons memory deserves better than this. Our lawmakers should remember that the dangerous proposal theyre supporting today can and will have irreversible and even deadly consequences for many Floridians for years to come.

Lucy McBath is the Faith and Outreach Leader for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

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Changing Stand Your Ground law wrong for Florida

Lucy McBath, My View Published 9:25 a.m. ET March 28, 2017 | Updated 11:17 a.m. ET March 28, 2017

Emotions were high after Jordan Davis' killer was convicted of murder. 17-year-old Davis' life ended when Michael Dunn shot him during an argument about rap music being played loudly the day after Thanksgiving in 2012. VPC

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It has been a year since 17-year-old Jordan Davis was gunned down over loud music he was playing in Jacksonville, Florida. The accused gunman Michael Dunn is considering using the state's "stand your ground" law in his defense. VPC

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The father of Jordan Davis, the teen killed by Michael Dunn after a confrontation about loud music, explains why this retrial for a murder conviction is important to him. VPC

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Jordan Davis' mom: We're able to finally give him rest

Gunned down teen remembered by family

Jordan Davis' dad: Forgiving Michael Dunn not up to me

The Florida House will soon vote on a bill that would expand the states already-deadly Stand Your Ground law. These laws embolden individuals to shoot first and ask questions later rather than encourage people to de-escalate their conflicts through peaceful means and walk away when safe to do so.

Research shows that Floridas current iteration was associated with an increase in firearm homicides, and while these types of laws put all of us at risk, they have a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

I understand this painful reality all too well. My son, Jordan Davis, was just 17 years old when he was shot and killed by an older white man during a dispute over loud music at a Jacksonville gas station. Jordan and his friends were all unarmed. My sons killer was not.

Research shows that when white shooters kill black victims, the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable 11 times more frequently than when the shooter is black and the victim is white. Additionally, Florida Stand Your Ground cases with minority victims are half as likely to lead to conviction, compared with cases that involve white victims.

Since Jordans murder, Ive dedicated my life to honoring his memory by telling his story and working to make sure no other parent experiences the pain of having a child stolen from them through gun violence. I, along with Florida members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and other gun violence survivors, will continue to speak out against this bill and all other dangerous bills that put our communities at risk.

Floridas Stand Your Ground already gives untrained civilians more leeway to shoot than the U.S. military gives its soldiers in war zones. Now, SB 128 would expand the law by effectively requiring criminal defendants who raise a Stand Your Ground defense to be convicted twice once by a judge and once by a jury.

This new bill would shift the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground pretrial hearings from defendants to prosecutors, forcing the state to prove a shooter acted unlawfully before it even brings a case to trial. This would make it easier for gun criminals to elude justice. It would also create an insurmountable backlog of cases for prosecutors, and stretch already-thin resources without allocating any more funding to that state agency.

Simply put, these types of laws do not deter crime. They allow individuals to shoot and kill others in public places even when they can clearly and safely walk away from the conflict.

We should focus on keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people not passing laws that turn everyday confrontations into deadly shootouts.

Floridians deserve better than this. Jordans memory deserves better than this. Trayvons memory deserves better than this. Our lawmakers should remember that the dangerous proposal theyre supporting today can and will have irreversible and even deadly consequences for many Floridians for years to come.

Lucy McBath is the Faith and Outreach Leader for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Read or Share this story: http://on.tdo.com/2nHQKnI

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Victim's mother: Stand Your Ground law emboldens shooters - Tallahassee.com

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An evening walk turns into an eerie confrontation for a reader who likes to walk at night in her neighborhood

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Karen McKearn-Lawrence, Des Moines, Letter to the Editor 5:24 p.m. CT March 28, 2017

A woman testifies against adding a "stand your ground" provision to Iowa's gun laws as others hold signs on the dangers of letting guns into the wrong hands.(Photo: Rekha Basu)

I went for a walk earlier this month, after dark something I have been doing for years. I have always felt safe because I live in a good neighborhood. Heading into mile four, someone in a beat-up car who apparently didn't feel so safestarted stalking me.

First the car drove by slowly, then pulled over twice to watch me, then turned around and started driving toward me, at which point I took a dive into the nearest yard to hide in the shadows, terrified.The car stopped a few yards from me and a woman yelled out, "Who are you?"

I said, "Who are you and what are you doing following me?" She replied that she thought I was invading property. I didn't say what I wanted to say.

Keep in mind that I am 5-foot-2-inches, about 105 poundsand walking on the sidewalk. I am grateful that the "stand your ground" law hadn't yet gone into effect.

Although the driver of that car will undoubtedly feel safer when it does, she won't be and neither will I.

Karen McKearn-Lawrence, Des Moines

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Stand your ground law won't make walkers safer - DesMoinesRegister.com

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On March 15, the Senate voted to pass SB 128, expanding our states dangerous stand your ground law. Its safe to say that I was deeply disappointed by this unfortunate development.

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Tallahassee Democrat 11:04 a.m. ET March 25, 2017

Letter to the Editor(Photo: Democrat files)Buy Photo

On March 15, the Senate voted to pass SB 128, expanding our states dangerous stand your ground law. Its safe to say that I was deeply disappointed by this unfortunate development.

By approving this reckless legislation, the bills supporters doubled down on the (already debunked) idea that stand your ground makes us safer. This law has led to more use of deadly force, endangering our communities and placing an undue burden of more homicide cases on our law enforcement officers.

Currently, about 70 percent of defendants who claim immunity under this law go free without a trial, despite about one-third of defendants initiating the confrontation, per the Tampa Bay Times. Expanding this law would only exacerbate the issue.

Despite all this evidence, some in the GOP have chosen to support this bill at the urging of the NRA. For fear of losing the gun lobbys financial backing, they have prioritized the NRA over their own communities.

When this bill comes before the House Judiciary Committee, the other committee members and I will face a simple decision: to represent the people or to represent the special interests.

I choose to represent my constituents and I urge other members to do the same.

Rep. Ramon Alexander, Tallahassee, ramonalexander06@yahoo.com

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Letter: 'Stand Your Ground' a bad law - Tallahassee.com

Marissa Alexander walks with her dad Raoul Jenkins after her sentencing in Jacksonville on Jan. 27, 2015. Bob Mack / Florida Times-Union via AP, file

They're pushing through a bill that would make prosecutors have to prove that the protections shouldn't apply.

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The measure, backed by defense lawyers and opposed by prosecutors, passed the state Senate last week. It will be discussed by a state House of Representatives committee Thursday morning.

Florida's stand-your-ground law, passed in 2005, was the nation's first. Twenty-one states have since followed. The proposed changes would make Florida's law the toughest for prosecutors and could be a harbinger of similar changes nationwide.

One opponent, Democratic state Sen. Audrey Gibson, has called the measure a "get-away-with-murder bill."

Alexander said in an interview this week that she understands that critics believe that stand your ground laws are used to discriminate against minorities, fuel vigilantism and allow criminals to escape prosecution.

But those critics, Alexander says, haven't experienced what she has.

"I didn't get a fair shake," she said.

Alexander, who as the daughter of an Army sergeant grew up around guns, said she knew little about Florida's stand-your-ground law when she was first charged with aggravated assault after she fired at her husband during a confrontation in her Jacksonville home.

She said it was a warning shot, but a judge denied her the chance to use the stand-your-ground defense, saying she didn't do enough to prove she feared for her safety.

She went to trial, where she was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to a mandatory minimum 20 years behind bars.

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Alexander believes the current burden of proof, formalized in a 2015 state Supreme Court decision, gives the government too much power and criminalizes domestic violence victims black women in particular.

"My experience was that if a defendant goes into a stand-your-ground case, they have to testify in their own defense," she said. "The burden is on you. You're already behind the eight-ball. You have to prove that you're innocent you're already guilty."

Just last week, a judge

After Alexander's conviction, stand-your-ground advocates rallied behind her, saying the law was being applied unfairly, particularly in comparison with the 2012 shooting of Martin.

Her case also drew attention of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which lobbied to remove aggravated assaults from crimes that carry mandatory minimum prison terms.

Marissa Alexander looks back to the gallery at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 2, 2014. Bob Mack / Florida Times-Union via AP, file

Alexander spent nearly three years in prison before her conviction was overturned. Rather than risk a new trial, she agreed to a plea deal that allowed her to be released to home detention. On Jan. 27, she was allowed to remove her monitoring bracelet, and was free to move around as she wished.

That meant taking her 6-year-old daughter and her 16-year-old twins whom she rarely saw while in prison out into public. She shares custody of the youngest child with her now-ex husband, the man she shot at. The twins are from a prior relationship.

Alexander has started a consulting business, and has accepted invitations to tell her story to audiences around the country. She's working on a memoir.

She has embraced her role as a hero in the justice reform movement, arguing for the repeal of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and speaking on behalf of domestic violence victims. She created a non-profit called the Marissa Alexander Justice Project.

And she has spoken to lawmakers in support of toughening Florida's stand your ground law.

"I think we could at least try to be as fair as possible," she said. "And when we see a situation where the scales are tipped to one side and we can make it more balanced, I think we should give it a try."

Read more:
Woman Who Lost Stand Your Ground Case Wants Law ... - NBC News - NBCNews.com