Holder calls for review of ‘stand-your-ground’ laws

[n2sooners]

Attorney General Eric Holder waded deeper into the controversy over the George Zimmerman case and verdict on Tuesday, suggesting a national review of "stand-your-ground" laws during a speech before the annual NAACP convention in Orlando.

The NAACP is at the forefront of the effort to pressure the Justice Department to bring federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. Holder confirmed on Monday that his department is reviewing that possibility, citing his personal concerns about the case.

He went a step further on Tuesday, weighing in for the first time on controversial state-level laws on self-defense.

"Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation's attention, it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods," Holder said.

The comments were a reference to so-called "stand-your-ground" laws, which in Florida and other states allow people to use deadly force if they think their life is being threatened.

The role that law played in the Zimmerman shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is a matter of dispute.

But Holder suggested the laws encourage confrontation, saying there "has always been" a legal defense for using deadly force when retreat is not an option.

"But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely," Holder said. "By allowing -- and perhaps encouraging -- violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety."

He called for a "hard look" at the laws. The crowd applauded as he said "we must stand our ground."

The "stand-your-ground" laws have been a popular target ever since the Martin shooting, and the pressure has intensified after Zimmerman was acquitted on Saturday.

The NRA spoke out against Holder's speech in a statement released Tuesday night.

"To send a message that legitimate self-defense is to blame is unconscionable, and demonstrates once again that this administration will exploit tragedies to push their political agenda," Chris W. Cox, executive director NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, though, told Fox News that officials should not politicize the case.

"We shouldn't turn this into politics. This was a tragedy," he told Fox News on Monday.

Scott noted that he already put together a bipartisan commission to examine Florida's "stand-your-ground" law.

"Their recommendation is we not make any changes, that it is working the way it was intended," Scott said.

A confluence of pressure campaigns, though, are weighing on Congress and the Obama administration.

Despite warnings from analysts and attorneys that the Justice Department would face an uphill climb in prosecuting Zimmerman on civil rights charges, an NAACP-led petition demanding such a case has apparently hit one million signatures.

Singer Stevie Wonder is also the latest celebrity to criticize Florida's self-defense law.

He declared that he would not perform in Florida until the law is abolished.

source

So Eric Holder think it is common sense to turn your back on something you perceive as a deadly threat? He's an idiot.

 

[Sanford]

WTH ... "people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat"? What happened to people having a right to come and go as they please without being threatened?

 

[Dukester]

The veil is slipping away, it seems...

 

[n2sooners]

Hmmm, doesn't that mean that since Eric Holder feels threatened by stand your ground laws that he and others like him have a duty to retreat to somewhere that those laws don't exist (like China maybe)?

 

[SoonerP226]

He knows there's no way he can go after Zimmerman, so deflecting the issue is his best defense.

He needs to be out of public office. Yesterday.

 

[vvvvvvv]

Who is Stevie Wonder and what is his significance to the conversation?

 

[BIG_MIKE2005]

Out of all the underhanded ignorant things this administration has attempted, this one possibly takes the cake. I do not believe they realize the possible consequences attacking stand your ground laws could bring. People have been fighting for years on the political level to get more rights to protect themselves from criminals as the criminals seem to be gaining more power. For him to come right out & attack those laws based on racially/politically motivated motives is beyond disgusting. I can only hope this blows up in their faces worse than the background check deal did.

I have a feeling there is going to be alot of backlash over this latest political move. And rightfully so, how he expects to tell American's they shouldn't have the right to fight & should always cower to criminals & threats is delusional. We as a nation were build on fighting for our rights, freedom & safety. Now they expect us to just run away, I don't think so.

As far as Stevie Wonder speaking out, he is just another puppet in their plans. Weather he is smart enough to realize it or not he is just another black pawn in their game mindlessly following the crowds.

 

[dennishoddy]

While this furor continues, we have forgotten fast and furious, NSA, IRS, Benghazi, and a host of other really important issues that the administration would like to see swept under the rug.
Their plan is working.......

 

[BIG_MIKE2005]

While this furor continues, we have forgotten fast and furious, NSA, IRS, Benghazi, and a host of other really important issues that the administration would like to see swept under the rug.
Their plan is working.......

Oh we haven't forgot & neither has our Republican Congress members. I just read another article posted today about them grilling the NSA and telling them they never authorized them to spy on every single American. so this issue is still being kept in mind just out of headlines for the most part. Same for the IRS deal. But I agree, I haven't heard much more about F&F or Benghazi.

 

[Glocktogo]

Simply put, Eric Holder does not respect the rule of law, states rights or the U.S. Constitution. He is wholly unfit for the office he holds. The speeches he's been making the past few days are reprehensible. I don't understand why Congress isn't all over him like a cheap suit right now.