Don #39;t Let Steve Sodders Stop SF137, the Iowa Stand Your Ground Law!
Stand Your Ground - Voiced by Jerry Johnson jerry@jerryjproductions.com.
By: Jerry Johnson
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Don't Let Steve Sodders Stop SF137, the Iowa Stand Your Ground Law! - Video
RENO, Nev. -- The Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee is looking at a proposed bill that could change what qualifies as a place in which the Silver State's 'Stand Your Ground' law applies.
If this bill becomes law, an "occupied motor vehicle" could be added to the list of places a Nevadan can defend themselves.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard statements today on whether or not it is lawful for a person to shoot a perceived aggressor if he or she "uses force" to break into the person's car or cause harm.
Senator Michael Roberson is a co-author of Senate Bill 175; it also includes verbiage protecting domestic violence victims in Nevada.
However, the majority of today's hour-and-a-half long meeting revolved around the occupied car section of the bill.
Supporters of the bill say this is not an extension of Nevada's current Stand Your Ground law, but the bill's opponents say it absolutely is.
"The primary concern we have with this is that we're talking about what's supposed to be a domestic violence bill; and there is an embedded presumption that allows someone to shoot first, ask questions later. It's more than just terminology, it's actual substance in this bill that presents a humongous problem for a large constituency of this state," says Sen. Aaron Ford. New bill, new implications for Stand Your Ground law
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New bill, new implications for Stand Your Ground law
(KYTX) -- A Texas lawmaker is fighting to change the state's 'Stand Your Ground Law,' arguing it encourages people to act upon fear and prejudice.
A bill introduced this week by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, would only allow deadly force if a person is in danger and can't safely retreat.
You may remember in January when Freddy Neal shot and killed a man outside a Tyler Walgreens, telling police he was in fear for his life. Neal hasn't been charged with anything, but if the proposed bill passes, it could make cases like that one a little less cut and dry.
"People now think they are the police, they're the court and they have a right to kill someone who wasn't using deadly force against them," Coleman said.
The proposed law wouldn't change the right to use deadly force to protect yourself in your own home, but anywhere else, you would have to be faced with a "reasonable" perceived threat.
"You can imagine a 100-pound woman having a completely different thought go through her mind than a 200-pound man if someone is coming at them with force," said State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler. "And what is reasonable? That's really the question."
The investigation into the deadly Walgreens shooting could raise similar concerns.
Michael Caldwell, 31, was shot to death by Freddy Neal, 65, after an argument outside the building. But under Coleman's proposed bill, Neal may have been charged.
Texas is one of nearly two dozen states that doesn't have a so-called "duty to retreat" before someone opts to use deadly force.
Coleman argues current 'Stand Your Ground' laws unfairly target minorities, specifically black males.
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Texas lawmaker fights to change 'Stand Your Ground' law
Courtesy of Sundance International Film Festival
Heartbreaking documentary on controversial Florida shooting
Sundance Film Festival (U.S. Documentary Competition)
Marc Silver
It was known as the Loud Music Trial, but centered on Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground law. In this horrific case, a middle-aged white male shot and killed a black teenager during a gas-station parking lot confrontation. Things escalated when Michael Dunn implored the teens to turn down their rap music. The awful result was that a teenage boy, Jordan Davis, ended up dead.
In a Rashomon structure, filmmaker Marc Silver sagely constructs the story from the varying viewpoints. We get to know the circumstances and both families: The son of loving middle-class parents, Davis was a well-liked middle-class teen; Dunn was a solid citizen, engaged and returning from a wedding that fatal day. It nonetheless emerges as a lose-lose tragedy the boy died and ultimately the man was sentenced to life plus 90.
This well-constructed, thoughtful documentary could be used as an instructional aide in criminal justice courses, ethics courses, as well as law-enforcement agencies. The verdict once again centers on Floridas much-debated law. In the second jury trial (the first was a mistrial), the jurors interpreted that the stand-your-ground law does not allow a person threatened to necessarily kill his or her assailant. In this instance, the jury determined that Dunn had exceeded his right to defend himself and did not avail himself of all avenues to defuse the situation.
Its sobering and heart-wrenching. There are no bad people in this story; there are differing viewpoints, in part shaped by different ages and cultures. Ultimately, it all comes down to a horrific 3/12 seconds in the lives of people out on an otherwise pleasant Sunday afternoon.
A The Filmmaker Fund/Motto Pictures production
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'3 1/2': Film Review
Updated: Friday, February 20 2015, 10:33 PM CST SOUTHEAST TEXAS - by Jessica Crawford
Democratic State Representative Garnet Coleman recently submitted a bill to modify the Castle Doctrine.
The current law allows Texans to use lethal force if they reasonably believe they are under the threat of imminent harm. Texas don't have to retreat if they believe the threat is real.
Coleman says the law could be dangerous.
"People now think that they are the police, they are the court, and they have a right to kill someone who wasn't using deadly force against them," says Coleman.
Attorney Scott Renick says Coleman's bill would only modify the law slightly.
"If you're in your own home, it doesn't really change but if you're away from your home, you're only allowed to use lethal force if there is no other option," says Renick. "What it's trying to change is you can't use lethal force in an event where there is what is a perceived threat, an example of that is the Trayvon Martin case."
In a telephone interview today, Coleman said "young men of color" become targets based on what he calls the "prejudice that society has."
Montra Scott, a Lamar University student, says he hopes Coleman's bill becomes law.
"I definitely believe it's wrong to shoot first ask questions later," he says. "It's wrong, it's wrong. I don't think it really depends on the situation I mean because in that case, it's like you're not thinking before you doing it, you're just doing it."
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Lawmaker submits bill to modify Stand Your Ground Law