The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
March 11, 2014

Thousands Protest "Stand Your Ground" in Florida 
-------------------------------------------------


 
Thousands of people marched to the Florida State Capitol on Monday in a
rally against the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. Attendees included
the Reverend Al Sharpton and the parents of Travyon Martin and Jordan
Davis, two unarmed black teens killed in Florida in the last two years.
Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said Florida is failing people of
color, while Jordan's mother, Lucia Mc Bath, said the movement will
refuse to back down.

Sybrina Fulton: "Florida is an 'F' state. 'F' is for Florida, because
right now Florida is failing us.

Lucia Mc Bath: "We will continue to fight. We will continue to stand. We
are not going away."

Opponents want the law's repeal, but Florida Republicans are pushing a
measure that would expand its reach. A new bill advanced last week would
make it legal to fire a warning shot at a potential attacker. The
NRA-backed proposal would ostensibly benefit defendants like Marissa
Alexander, a black woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a
warning shot near her estranged husband. Alexander faces up to 60 years
at her retrial. But opponents fear the expanded leeway could lead to
even more shootings of unarmed people of color.

 

.