In light of the George Zimmerman verdict, Attorney General Eric Holder thinks that it’s high time we repeal various Stand Your Ground laws.
As civil rights groups plan nationwide vigils for Trayvon Martin, and online petitions demanding federal charges be pressed against Zimmerman pick up steam, Holder said that a Justice Department investigation into the February 2012 killing must also include a look at controversial Stand Your Ground laws in place across the country.
Speaking to the NAACP Tuesday , Holder was reluctant to promise federal charges in the Zimmerman case , but did repeat his pledge to spearhead a full DOJ investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin.
But Holder seems more concerned with Stand Your Ground, saying that such laws “senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods.”
“By allowing — and perhaps encouraging — violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety,” Holder said of Stand Your Ground laws, in place in over 30 states.
It’s possible that Holder emphasized his focus on Stand Your Ground laws since legal experts agree that federal charges against Zimmerman seem unlikely.
According to David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida, the Justice Department would have to prove that Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin was “solely motivated by/because of his race or color,” then arguing that such an element was “absent from the state trial and quite frankly doesn’t exist.”
Holder might think that there’s more fruit in pursuing action against Stand Your Ground laws. Though not invoked in the case, the law was at the center of criticism early on, and has become a point of contention for many since the verdict.
Holder promised a “hard look” at Stand Your Ground laws to applause at the NAACP, but Florida Governor Rick Scott said that he already put together a bipartisan commission to review their version.
“Their recommendation is we not make any changes, that it is working the way it was intended,” Scott said.
He also warned against politicizing the case.
“We shouldn’t turn this into politics. This was a tragedy,” he told Fox News on Monday.
What do you think of Eric Holder’s comments on Stand Your Ground laws? Is he avoiding federal charges against Zimmerman, or is the controversial law where we as a nation ought to dedicate our attention?
[Image via: Wikimedia Commons ]