A Florida politician proposes legislation to hide stand your ground records from the media after a Tampa Bay Times’ review of 200 cases.
The review found that “Florida’s ‘stand your ground” law has allowed drug dealers to avoid murder charges and gang members to walk free. It has stymied prosecutors and confused judges.” The review also noted “uneven application” and “shocking outcomes” in many instances.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, filed an amendment to HB89 which would expand the scope of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law and severely limit access to court records in the self-defense cases, but claims that the proposed amendment was not intended as a response to the Times review, rather it is intended to provide privacy to individuals cleared of charges.
“The point is to make sure that someone who appropriately uses the ‘stand your ground’ defense doesn’t have their life ruined by the use of that defense,” Gaetz said.
However, the Times reports that court records are instrumental for people trying to understand implications of the 2005 law. A 2012 Tampa Bay Times investigation reviewed 200 cases, including ones that wouldn’t be available if lawmakers approve the new language, and found that the law was used inconsistently and led to disparate results.
As expected, the NRA has thrown their support behind the proposed amendment. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer noted that Rep Gaetz was “one of the strongest, most dedicated supporters of the Second Amendment, your right to keep and bear arms and your right of self-defense that we have ever had in the Florida Legislature.”
You can watch a news clip on the proposed amendment from The Young Turks, below.
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