Florida Governor Rick Scott keeps falling back on the Report of his self-apointed Task Force, in the face of ongoing Citizen Protests in Florida's Capitol building.
Florida Governor Rick Scott keeps saying the Stand Your Ground laws are fine just the way they are -- his Task Force has told him so ...
Fla. gov. says no to demands but protest remains
by Gary Fineout, miamiherald.com, Associated Press -- 07.17.13
[...]
At a stop in Pensacola, Scott said he supported people giving their views.
"I think it is great that people are exercising their voices," Scott said.
But he repeated his statement from Tuesday that he does not believe any changes need to be made to the state's "stand your ground" law. It allows someone to use deadly force if they believe their life is in danger. The 2005 law eliminated a provision that required people outside their homes to have a "duty to retreat" from a threat.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, addressing the NAACP in Orlando on Tuesday, said all such laws across the country need to be reassessed. He said they "sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods."
Scott's position is the same as the one reached by a task force he created last year after the Martin shooting.
[...]
Funny, didn't Governor Scott even read the findings of his own self-commissioned report?
They had some recommended changes. They didn't think the SYG Law was just fine ...
Take for instance Recommendation 4 of the Governor's Task Force -- What's the timetable on that one Guv?
www.floridastandyourground.org
Report of the Governor’s Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection -- FINAL (pdf)
Honorable Jennifer Carroll, Lieutenant Governor, Task Force Chair
February 21, 2013
[pg 6]
4. The Task Force recommends the Legislature review applicable standards for recognized neighborhood watch groups, as defined in Section 30.60 and Section 166.0485, Florida Statutes, to define the role of neighborhood watch participants as limited to observing, watching, and reporting potential criminal activity to law enforcement. The participant’s purpose is not to pursue, confront, or provoke potential suspects.
The Task Force heard testimony from a neighborhood watch volunteer, crime prevention coordinator, and private security companies regarding standards for neighborhood watch groups. The standards for neighborhood watch groups ranged from the loosely organized to sophisticated organizations that employed written policies and procedures and strict standards for volunteers. The Task Force learned through these presentations that neighborhood watch volunteers are residents of their respective communities who volunteer their time; however, there are usually no requirements to participate or training provided to them. This could result in occurrences of volunteers acting outside the scope of the intent of neighborhood watch, which is to observe and report only, not to pursue, confront, or provoke potential suspects.
[...]
Since Governor Scott likes his Task Force Report so much -- maybe he should provide us
specific time-tables and implementation plans for each of its 10 Recommendations?
Number Recommendation 8 is seems kind of important one too:
[pg 7]
8. The Task Force recommends the Legislature consider funding further study of the correlation and causation to include variables such as race, ethnicity, gender, application and fairness of the law in regards to the expansion of self defense laws in the State of Florida, including a statistical comparison with other states. The Task Force recommends any report be issued by 2015 with periodic updates.
Might as well get busy on those "plans" Governor, since the protestors aren't going anywhere. any time soon ...
Dream Defenders: Day 5 And Not Budging
miami.cbslocal.com --July 20, 2013
[...]
Protest leaders met Thursday with Scott, but the governor told them he supported the law and would not call a special session.
The Dream Defenders vowed to continue their protest.
“Rick Scott has awoken a sleeping giant,” said Curtis Hierro, one of the group’s leaders, in a statement. “Dream Defenders call for people around the nation to converge on Florida’s Capitol to join us as we stand our ground for Trayvon.”
dreamdefenders.org
We still have a dream ... pass it on ...