Executive Director of Iowans for Gun Safety Jozef Figa said racial discrimination could occur when Stand Your Ground laws are used as a defense.
This was a question raised by many when Lamar Wilson, 24, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of assault with the intent to inflict serious injury, and intimidation with a dangerous weapon, using Iowa’s new Stand Your Ground law as his defense.
“Would he have gotten away with it if he were white?” Figa said. “This is the question of the particular cultural and social context in the United States.”
Figa referenced the 2013 case Florida v. George Zimmerman, in which his lawyers used self-defense in the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and Manslaughter.
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The “Stand Your Ground” law, Iowa House File 517, deals with the regulation of firearms as well as reasonable use of force.The bill was introduced in early March 2017 and was signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad April 13, 2017. It went into effect July 1, 2017.
“I understand some folks disagree with some of the provisions in this bill, but by far, I think we can agree this will advance Iowans’ individual freedoms and individual liberties and restore some rights and provisions to them that have long ago been taken away,” Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, said on the House floor before the vote in April.
Reasonable force, according to the law, is decided when a reasonable person under like circumstances would find the use of deadly force necessary to avoid injury or risk to one’s life and safety or the life and safety of another/others.
Under the law, deadly force does not mean the threat of using such force through displaying a deadly weapon as long as people limit their actions to creating an expectation that they may use deadly force to defend themselves or another.
In an instance in which justifiable reasonable force is used, people would be immune from civil and criminal liability for all damages incurred through the use of reasonable force.
A variety of lobbyists voiced their opinions on the legislation, speaking for their clients, including Iowans for Gun Safety, which was against the law.
Figa said the organization is not opposed to gun ownership or the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but it supports gun safety and would like to see reasonable controls for those who are using their Second Amendment rights. He noted that Iowans for Gun Safety is very unhappy with the Stand Your Ground legislation.
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“Last year’s pro-gun legislation opens lots of areas for misuse and misapplication of guns,” Figa said. “It’s very difficult to recognize, if you think about it, when you are in danger or not.”
Figa said he believes laws like this one could lead to an increase in violence with a deadly weapon and gave an example of how that could play out.
“If you have a gun, and you think that I pose a threat to you, you may stand your ground and use the gun,” he said. “Well, it turns out it was all a misunderstanding.”
According to Section 37 Subsection 2 of the bill, “a person may be wrong in the estimation of the danger or the force necessary to repel the danger as long as there is a reasonable basis for the belief of the person and the person acts reasonable in the response to that belief.”
Wilson is scheduled to be at the Johnson County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Feb 22 for a hearing in relation to the “stand your ground” law.