Gaetz promises to defend 'Stand Your Ground' law(FL)

jcfloridan.com ^ | 25 October, 2012 | Deborah Buckhalter

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Florida Senator Don Gaetz, R-Destin, was guest speaker at the Jackson County Cattlemen’s Association banquet Tuesday night. He made some promises in his speech that had more to do with other hot topics than with cattle farming.

For instance, as the incoming senate president, Gaetz said he will do all in his power to block a repeal of the state’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law which, allows people under attack to immediately defend themselves, rather than first retreating as Florida law once demanded.

“My wife’s in a wheelchair…I don’t want her to be caught somewhere in a darkened parking lot… and be forced to flee, because she won’t be able to flee,” he said.

Gaetz went on to talk about the vulnerability he feels innocent people will face if the law is repealed.

“It was so bad (before the law was passed) that there actually were lawsuits by people who committed bodily crimes, committed injury, assaults, and were suing the victims who were trying to defend themselves when they had a legal obligation to flee,” he said.

Gaetz talked about the situation in Sanford, in which a neighborhood watch member shot to death someone he encountered on the street he was patrolling. The shooter is now charged in the young man’s death.

“We haven’t had the first piece of evidence about that crime, if it was a crime, even submitted to the first day of trial yet, and the national media and people who oppose our second amendment right have already indicted our Stand Your Ground law and have already said that it must be repealed, but, I think it’s ground we need to defend,” he said. “As president of the Senate, I am promising you we will stand our ground and we will not repeal the stand your ground

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This is the future president of the Florida Senate.