If Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives & State Senate get their Way, you will NEVER hear about the Sunshine State's Record on "Stand Your Ground" Cases again! How? Well tomorrow the Senate is set to vote on proposed changes to the controversial law-that include provisions that will block access to court records, for which a defendant has successfully used the S.Y.G. Law to go free. Furthermore, the amendment-proposed by Florida Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz-gives said defendants the opportunity to apply for a “Certificate Of Eligibility” which will allow all traces of the charge to be removed from that person's criminal record. As to be expected, the NRA has been instrumental in pushing for this change-claiming that it will protect the Right To Privacy for those acting on their Second-Amendment Rights. Smh. Now ponder the implications of this change in how the already controversial law is administered. If it wasn't for local activists & media efforts to expose the grossly unequal application of "Stand Your Ground," would we have known about Trayvon Martin, Marissa Alexander, or Jordan Davis??? Adding insult to injury, Gaetz's proposal is actually attached to Bi-Partisan reforms introduced to protect defendants like Marissa Alexander. That's right, the original purpose of the changes to S.Y.G. came in response to outcry that the law should be expanded to include people who fire warning shots as a method of self-defense. For those that don't remember, Mrs. Alexander was sentenced to 20 Years in prison for firing a "Warning Shot" into her ceiling-as her admittedly abusive husband was threatening to kill her. Mrs. Alexander is now awaiting a Re-Trial, after her conviction was overturned by an Appeals Court. Would she even be getting a new trial, if the general public had not been allowed to hear about the injustice that had been performed against her? What's next? And where are "Messy Jesse" & Al Sharpton now?
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