FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 17, 2013
Contacts:
CJ Frogozo, CJ@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 310 570 2622
Kayla Keller, Kayla@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 281 682 6212
ColorOfChange.org Petition Demands State Elected Officials End ALEC-Driven Shoot First Laws **View Petition Here: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/ShootFirst/***
New York, NY – In the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal, ColorOfChange.org has launched a petition demanding state elected officials put an end to unjust and dangerous “Shoot First” or “Stand Your Ground” laws. Originally drafted by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a long-time legislative priority of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Shoot First inspires dangerous vigilantism.[1] Florida’s Shoot First law is why police failed to arrest Zimmerman for six weeks and why they failed to conduct a proper homicide investigation or collect key evidence in the case.[2]
It is why the jury let Zimmerman walk free,[3] and the law will likely bar Trayvon Martin’s family from suing Zimmerman for wrongful death in civil court.[4] In states with Shoot First laws, white people who kill Black people are 354% more likely to be cleared of wrongdoing than whites who kill other whites.[5] In a recent television interview, Zimmerman Juror B37 acknowledged the centrality of Shoot First to the miscarriage of justice in Trayvon’s case, saying, “Because of the heat of the moment and the Stand Your Ground….It was just hard, thinking that somebody lost their life, and there’s nothing else that could be done about it.”
Last year, tens of thousands of ColorOfChange members took action to shine a national spotlight on Shoot First laws in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s killing. Working in partnership with the Center for Media and Democracy, Common Cause, ProgressNow, CREDO and others, ColorOfChange convinced over 50 major corporations and private sector members to stop funding ALEC, the shadowy corporate lobby that brought Florida’s deadly law to 25 other states.
Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange, said, “These laws have no business in a fair and just society. ‘Shoot First’ laws, combined with a media culture that stereotypes Black men and boys as dangerous criminals, and a justice system that is stacked against us, put a target on the backs of Black youth.”
Robinson continued, “Because of ‘Shoot First’ laws, the system failed to provide justice for Trayvon Martin and his family. Shoot First endangers the lives of Black folks and everyone else in states where it exists. Throughout the country, public attention is focused on the impact Shoot First had on the Zimmerman case, and we’re starting a larger conversation about how these laws threaten public safety, especially for Black people.”
###
With more than 850,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.
References:
1. Time to Repeal ALEC/NRA Stand Your Ground Laws, PR Watch, 07-15-13
2. The Role Of ‘Stand Your Ground’ In Zimmerman Trial, CBS Miami, 07-14-13
3. 7 Mind Blowing Moments From Zimmerman Juror B37′s First Interview, ThinkProgress, 07-16-13
4. Civil Case Against Zimmerman In Florida Has Little Chance Of Success, Buzzfeed, 07-14-13 5. White people who kill black people in ‘Stand Your Ground’ states are 354% more likely to be cleared of murder, Daily Mail, 07-15-13