Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law continues to enjoy widespread support among likely voters, even as a state task force considers rewriting the law. This consideration is due to the media and public uprising stemming from the Trayvon Martin–George Zimmerman case, according to a news poll.
STORY: Witness 9 Claims George Zimmerman Molested Her!
According to the poll, nearly 65 percent say the 2005 law does not need to be changed. “Stand Your Ground” allows people, who believe they are in grave danger, to use deadly force to defend themselves. However; those numbers don’t reflect when it comes to voters’ thoughts on the Trayvon Martin shooting, which has forced the “Stand Your Ground” law into the national spotlight, according to the Miami Herald.
Voters are essentially split about whether George Zimmerman was acting in self-defense, when he pulled the trigger. Zimmerman faces second-degree murder charges for shooting the 17-year-old Trayvon on Feb. 26 of this year.
Forty-four percent believe he was and 40 percent say he wasn’t, while 16 percent are not sure. Major differences show when voters are isolated by geography and race.
Brad Coker, of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, a nonpartisan, Jacksonville-based company conducted a poll. A telephone survey of 800 registered Florida voters, likely to vote in the November election, was conducted July 9-11 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Voters in South Florida and blacks are the most likely to say “Stand Your Ground” should be repealed or amended, and that Zimmerman was not justified in shooting Trayvon.
Only 6 percent of black voters believe Zimmerman was acting in self-defense, while 82 percent said he was not, the poll found. Hispanics were the most likely to agree with Zimmerman’s self-defense claim, with 52 percent saying he was justified, compared to 50 percent of whites. Hispanics were also the most likely to say they were not sure, with 25 percent undecided about the case. For what it’s worth; Zimmerman is Hispanic and Martin is black.
Sixty-nine percent of black voters believe the law should be repealed or modified, compared to just 28 percent of white voters and 34 percent of Hispanics.
Some believe that it’s just to use deadly force when threatened, while others say there are disparities with how the law is enforced, and others say that the law increases violence and facilitates a violent culture.
Whether “Stand Your Ground” is just, being changed, or repealed, there is still a young man’s life that’s been cut far too short. What do you think of “Stand Your Ground?”
