By Edward L. Queen
Another killing. Another tragedy. And once again Florida’s “stand
your ground” law is in the news after an unarmed man named Markeis
McGlockton was shot to death
on July 19 in front of his family during a dispute over a convenience
store parking place. So far, the man who killed McGlockton has not been
charged with any crime. Take a moment and think about that — a parking
spot argument leads to a fatal shooting and no one is prosecuted. Is
this where we wish to be as a country?
This question is asked, not
rhetorically, but seriously. And it’s one that gets at the very basis
of these laws, and of public policy generally. Why do we adopt the laws
that we do? At best, Florida’s “stand your ground” law is a solution to a
non-existent problem. At worst, it seems to have exacerbated the
problem it ostensibly was designed to correct. Rather than improving the
security of its citizens, it has actively lessened it. It has sown
confusion among law-enforcement, prosecutors and the courts and its
reach has extended to levels beyond the intent of at least one of the law’s primary sponsors, Dennis K. Baxley.
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Source: NBC News/THINK
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