4/27/2012

Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Panel to review law has first meeting scheduled for May 1st

Fox 35 in Orlando has this:

Gov. Rick Scott's task force on Florida's self-defense laws, including what's known as the "stand your ground" law, has set its first meeting for May 1.
The governor's office on Tuesday announced the meeting will be held at the Florida Department of Transportation's headquarters in Tallahassee.
It will focus on administrative matters and no public comment will be taken, but it will be streamed live by the Florida Channel at
http://thefloridachannel.org . . . .

 The Orlando Sentinel has a list of panel members here:

Members include state Rep Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who authored the 2005 bill that passed the Legislature; Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle;  former Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Bell of Pensacola and Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley. Several Orlando-area legislators are also members.
The task force is chaired by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and the vice-chair is the Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., a prominent African American minister in Tallahassee. . . .
  • Sheriff Larry Ashley, of Shalimar, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
  • State Representative Dennis Baxley, of Ocala, Florida House of Representatives, District 24.
  • Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth B. Bell, of Pensacola, shareholder with Clark Partington Hart Larry Bond and Stackhouse.
  • State Representative Jason Brodeur, of Sanford, Florida House of Representatives, District 33.
  • Derek E. Bruce, of Orlando, attorney with Edge Public Affairs.
  • Joseph A. Caimano Jr., of Tampa, criminal defense attorney with Caimano Law Group.
  • Edna Canino, of Miami, president of the Florida Embassy of League of United Latin American Citizens, Council 7220.
  • Gretchen Lorenzo, of Fort Myers, neighborhood watch coordinator for the Fort Myers Police Department.
  • Judge Krista Marx, of West Palm Beach, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
  • Maria Newman, of Melbourne, neighborhood watch volunteer with the City of Melbourne.
  • Katherine Fernandez Rundle, of Miami, state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
  • Stacy A. Scott, of Gainesville, assistant public defender with the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
  • Mark Seiden, of Miami, self-employed attorney.
  • State Senator David Simmons, of Altamonte Springs, Florida Senate, District 22.
  • State Senator Gary Siplin, of Orlando, Florida Senate, District 19.
The Miami Herald handicapped the panel this way:
•  Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, sponsored Stand Your Ground in 2005 and has indicated it doesn’t need to be changed.
•  Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, co-sponsored and voted for Stand Your Ground. He told the Herald/Times bureau that he was instrumental in drafting the final language of the law as House Judiciary Committee chairman, and was Baxley’s roommate at the time.
•  Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, joined the Legislature in 2010, and the first bill he passed was a controversial gun rights bill banning doctors from asking patients about gun ownership.
•  Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, voted for the bill in 2005. It passed the Senate unanimously.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/19/2757282/gov-rick-scott-announces-members.html#storylink=cpy
Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, the incoming speaker of the Florida House of Representatives has a piece on the topic available here:
In the Florida House of Representatives, we will review the current law, but we must not diminish the fundamental rights afforded to every American in our Constitution. We must not give criminals the upper hand over law-abiding citizens in Florida.

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