Trayvon Martin’s Mom Calls For Amending ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws

“I just wanted to come here to talk to you for a moment to let you know how important it is that we amend this ‘stand your ground’ because it did not, certainly did not work in my case,” she said. “The person that shot and killed my son is walking the streets today and this law does not work. We need to seriously take a look at this law.”

In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was unarmed when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of the murder this summer. Although Zimmerman’s defense did not invoke the stand your ground law, the case sparked a national debate about race and “stand your ground” laws, which exist in at least 22 states.

The hearing held by a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee today examined the impact of “stand your ground” laws. The hearing was initially supposed to be held last month but was delayed to the shootings at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights subcommittee, said the self-defense laws have caused “unnecessary tragedies” and need to be reviewed.

“It is clearly time for ‘stand your ground’ laws to be carefully reviewed and reconsidered,” Durbin said. “Whatever the motivation behind them, it’s clear these laws often go too far in encouraging confrontations that escalate into deadly violence. They’re resulting in unnecessary tragedies and they are diminishing accountability under our justice system.”

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