The call to repeal or amend the Stand Your Ground Law
By Rev. Dr. R. B. Holmes, Jr.
    Enough is enough. This Stand Your Ground Law has called so much confusion, controversy and unrest among some judges, jurors, prosecutors and citizens. This law is divisive and is bringing so much turmoil and disrespect to the good people of this state.
It is now time for the legislature and Governor to take a critical assessment on how this law is dividing this state and bringing negative attention to Florida. I think this law needs to be reviewed, amended or simply repealed. No law is perfect; only Godâs divine law.
A law is bad when it gives people the right to shoot first and ask questions later; this is morally wrong. I am asking our elected officials to not get bogged down in partisan politics and personal agendas and to do what is right for all Floridians and change this law to make it more clear and consistent. The deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis and others truly need justice in our court system. The jurors cannot be confused when persons use this law to express their fears, frustrations, anger and even hatred.
As a member of the Governorâs task force that looked at this law, I am now asking the Governor to support the recommendations that the task force submitted. In particular, the recommendation to do a comprehensive study to see if this law is being applied justly and fairly to all people, and to analyze if Black people and poor people are being the victims of the misapplication of this law.
We should not be afraid of the truth. If the data proves that this law is being used in a bias and subjective way against a certain group of people, then the moral thing to do is fix this law, amend this law or simply repeal this law.
It is indeed unlawful, from my perspective, to shoot any unarmed person who is lawfully minding their own business, as it was in the case of Jordan Davis, and the killer does not get convicted for killing this young man because of the confusion and misunderstanding around the stand your ground law.
We are now asking the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to take an objective and prayerful look at the law and ask them how they would feel if one of their family members were Jordan Davis.
We will appoint a national pastorsâ task force to work to repeal or repair âStand Your Ground Lawsâ across the country. The members of the task force will be announced on Tuesday, March 25th at 2pm at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. It is important for pastors to become more involved in challenging and changing laws that have a negative impact in our communities.
