The Call to Action Begins
The murder of Trayvon Martin has brought Florida's "Stand Your Ground" from the shadows, into the light. Since 2005, when it became law in Florida, the rate of self-defense claims in homicide cases has jumped significantly. As Think Progress Justice puts it, statistics show "that 'justifiable homicides' have shot up in Florida since the self-defense law passed" (Beadle, 22 Mar 2012).
Other similar NRA-fashioned bills (under titles like the "[My Home Is My] Castle" law, "Shoot First," and "Stand Your Ground") have spread, in a highly coordinated march--becoming law in 28 states--across the nation. It is an incredible feat, really; especially when you consider the snail's pace at which the U.S. Congress gets things done [not].
In a few short years, by comparison, the Koch Industries-sponsored "American Legislative Exchange Council" (ALEC) has been extremely successful at moving laws that basically facilitate the sale of guns and ammo. Walmart has been a particular beneficiary of these bills; moving--as they have--in tandem with laws allowing distribution chains like Walmart to sell firearms and ammo to as many people as possible.
Anyway, ALEC has functioned to bring newly-minted Republican governors and state legislators especially, into the kind of "quiet rooms" where, according to Mitt Romney, the real deals are made.
Through ALEC, the Koch Brothers host Republican governors, state legislators, and even US Supreme Court Justices, apparently--bringing them into close, out-of-the-way proximity with lobbyists and corporates elites profiting on the manufacture/sale of guns and ammo:
- The NRA--the public outreach and lobbying arm of gun manufacturers;
- The National Association of Firearms Retailers (aka NSSF)--most notably, Walmart; and,
- Koch Industries, itself.
You might want to ask if your own state legislator has attended an ALEC conference (or more); and if they've sponsored any piece of model legislation they received as a handout there. Wonder if anything else exchanges hands?
Anyway, the murder of Trayvon Martin brings into painfully sharp relief the injustices Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, and others similarly fashioned, will continue to rain down upon us if we don't act to reverse this particular tide. Massachusetts is not immune.
Remember, as Walmart goes, so do such laws. Last year a version of this bill--specifically, Senate Bill 661--began to wend its way, quietly, through the halls of the Massachusetts General Court. On the Senate side, 661 expands Castle to anywhere one "has a right to be;" on the House side, H 1568 'tweaks' firearms licensing requirements to comport with the provisions of S 661.
We must act now! You might have noticed that it's always easier to block something from becoming law than it is to repeal it once it becomes law. (Think Bush tax cuts.)
The Joint Committee on the Judiciary is supposed to convene on the 27th April 2012 to consider these legislative proposals. Details to TBA in upcoming posts.
In the meantime, please sign our petition, and if you feel the urgency as we do, circulate it as well.
