A stupid lawsuit
Rainbow Push is suing GA over its stand your ground law:
A civil rights group filed a federal lawsuit Friday aimed at getting Georgia’s “stand your ground law” thrown out, arguing the statute is arbitrary and hurts young black men more than anyone else.
Rainbow Push Coalition chose Georgia to begin what they envision as a series of nationwide challenges to make the controversial law more precise.
Kind of stupid for a few reasons:
This “new” law just codified existing common law.
The two cases they use to highlight the issue are pretty much just criminal activity.
I doubt they have standing.
And, also, it bears repeating since the press always trots out Trayvon Martin: Trayvon Martin’s death had nothing to do with stand your ground laws.
November 5th, 2013 at 10:12 am
And, if the situation is like Florida, they will find that blacks benefit at a greater rate from the SYG law than white people.
November 5th, 2013 at 3:37 pm
So who handles the defense on this case if a judge allows it to proceed? My bet is the defenders will be the same agencies of local government that hated SYG law, because it removed a great big chunk of prosecutorial discretion when enacted.
SYG laws were passed because prosecutors were chipping away at self defense, case by case. Prosecutors were penalizing innocent survivors of violent attacks.
They were chilling the exercise of the right of self defense by making arguments that being prepared to defend yourself equated to malice aforethought, that not retreating when mugged meant you were voluntarily participating in a street fight, that hiding in a bedroom with your gun when you could have jumped out the 2nd story window was the only reason that nice young teen was gunned down at 2AM in your home.
Here’s hoping the amicus briefs on the side of the laws are well prepared, because I don’t see the local government wanting SYG to exist very much.