Sen. Durbin Announces Hearing On ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws. Probe of NRA and ALEC

[cal04]

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced Friday he will chair a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing on civil rights issues raised by "stand your ground" laws when the Senate reconvenes in September.

"These laws, one of which played a key role in the trial surrounding the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, give individuals the right to use lethal force to protect themselves if they feel their life is in danger, without first attempting to retreat from the situation," a statement from Durbin's office read.

Among the topics the hearing will raise are civil rights issues arising from the intersection of racial profiling and "stand your ground" laws, the extent to which those laws provoke armed confrontations, as well as the gun lobby and the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) influence in creating and promoting those laws, according to the statement.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/sen-durbin-announces-senate-judiciary-hearing-on-stand

(snip)
Durbin’s hearing will probe the roles of the NRA and the American Legislative Exchange Council — which helps draft conservative legislation in statehouses — in the crafting of the “stand your ground” laws, his office said. Durbin also plans to examine the legal definition of self defense, how the laws have affected shooting confrontations and how the laws interact with racial profiling by law enforcement.

A witness list or further details will be released in August in advance of the September hearing, an aide said.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/stand-your-ground-law-hearing-94477.html



http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/07/19/zimmerman-trayvon-stand-your-ground-senate-hearing/2568677/
(snip)
Durbin's office said the September hearing will look at the influence of the gun lobby and American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that provides state legislators with model legislation, in creating and promoting these self-defense laws.

The hearing will also explore the ways in which these statutes have changed the legal definition of self-defense and whether the laws have encouraged unnecessary shooting confrontations. The civil rights implications when racial profiling and "stand your ground" laws mix together will also be discussed, Durbin's office said.

[itsrobert]

1. A good witness would be George Zimmerman

sweating like a stuck pig.

[Voice for Peace]

2. kick.. hope this goes somewhere

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

3. This isn't going away anytime soon.

These gun violence tragedies are pushing against a dam full of cracks, if not gaping holes.

[Rex]

4. GOOD! Call Zimmerman to the stand!

Find out why he didn't retreat!

[malaise]

5. Get thee to the greatest page

Rec

[hack89]

6. And the DC kabuki dance begins. nt

[calimary]

7. Good! Drag them into the harshness of the bright light and open air.

Watch the cockroaches scatter in disarray!

Drag them by the hair into the light where EVERYONE can see and hear, and they have no place to hide.

They've perpetrated ALL of this shit in the darkness. Under cover of darkness and behind closed doors and in secret meetings of like-minded fiends. That's the only way they can get this shit done - in secret, when they think no one's watching or keeping track. When they think nobody's looking or noticing. They wait til they think we're asleep. They sneak it and hide it and stealth it because they know they'll fail if it's out in the open. Their strength, power, and effectiveness comes from sneaky shit pulled in the shadows when others' backs are turned.

So the challenge falls to US - to KEEP the bright lights on them. KEEP yanking them out into the open where they can't hide and they can't sneak. KEEP the focus on them.

And when we think we've defeated ALEC? THINK AGAIN! They STILL need to be watched and tracked, because then they'll change their name, their certification, their charter, their registry, they'll spread out and metastasize and will count on us assuming we beat 'em because ALEC has officially and publicly closed its doors. THINK AGAIN. You think just because Blackwater ceased operations that its mission and its objectives are over, too? All they did is reorganize, name themselves something different - Xe at the time and maybe they've dug down a few layers and set up multiple shadow companies to hide what they're STILL bent on doing, and then simply continue with business as usual.

These people are shrewd as hell. That's why WE have to be even MORE shrewd. We have to get better at anticipating this stuff. Otherwise we'll just be blindsided again. As is happening in Texas NOW. As is happening in Virginia NOW. As is happening in Wisconsin NOW. As is happening in North Carolina NOW. Where else? Anybody watching? Anybody on the alert? Anybody keeping track?

You can never EVER assume that a win is a win and that's that - with an enemy like this. If you think I'm hyperventilating or exaggerating, simply look what's happening - NOW - to Roe v Wade. We thought that was the end of it. How many women have YOU heard, questioning in bewilderment WHY we're still fighting this, WHY we're in danger of losing our rights to have the last word over what happens to OUR bodies? WHY this is still happening in the 21st Century? I'm sure you've heard them. We've certainly seen them posting about it here, and elsewhere! It's because we figured what was done was DONE. Handled. Check it off the list. Problem solved. Now let's all go relax - the battle's over. Hell, with the adversaries we've been up against for the duration, the battle was only beginning. And we went to sleep, thinking we'd won the war. And while we slept, the bad guys kept working and systematically began to turn the tide and chip away at the ground we gained. Until we have the almost complete devastation of women's rights that we now SEE, IN REALITY, in at least FOUR states!

Still feel like snoozing? STILL think it's okay to relax and drop your guard? Unfortunately, our fight is NEVER completely won. We can NEVER stop being vigilant. EVER.