The politics of ‘Stand your ground’ law [View all]

[SecularMotion]

When Gov. Rick Scott’s Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection meets on Tuesday, the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law from State Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, will be in the crosshairs of public scrutiny.

And for good reason. Following passage in 2005 in Florida, similar laws were adopted in approximately two dozen states, with the help of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). These state laws, according to The Wall Street Journal, have resulted in an average 50 percent increase in “justifiable homicides” in the years after their passage, while other states experience little or no change.

But Baxley, a task force member, is not simply a member of the Florida Legislature with expertise or interest in policies related to “citizen safety and protection.” A closer review of his relationship with the gun lobby underscores that he should be considered a representative of the National Rifle Association (NRA) on the task force, not of the voters that place him into office.

Baxley himself doesn’t make the distinction, recently telling CNN, “I feel like I’m responding to my constituents when the NRA sits at the table with me.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/09/2885128/the-politics-of-stand-your-ground.html#storylink=cpy