LetJusticePrevail shares: […]  For anyone interested, this link provides access to the full video of the FL Criminal Justice Subcommittee hearing yesterday that listened to debate on HB 4003 that called for the repeal of the FL Stand Your Ground law.
The hearing (and video) was FIVE HOURS long, and it may not be something you want to watch, so here’s the long and short of it:
The committee rejected the bill by a vote of 11-2, (voting FOR the repeal were Dems Randolph Bracy and Kionne McGhee) and the SYG law WILL remain in place. The other bill (HB 89) that addresses proposed changes to the SYG law (but not repeal)and the 10-20-life sentencing guidelines was approved by a vote of 12-1 and will be sent to the general legislature.(only McGhee opposed HB 89, on the argument that it was an “exception to an exception to an exception to an exception and that there were better ways to address the issue of mandatory sentences in of aggravated assault, rather than including them under the umbrella of immunity as provided under statute 776).
So, the repeal of FL’s SYG law died in subcommittee, and the bill that would EXPAND  immunity to include cases where the mere THREAT of force was used in cases of self defense PASSED to be heard by the legislature. These were BOTH victories for FL citizens, and their rights to defend themselves.

[…]  HB 4003 was authored by State representative Alan B Williams, and he presented the argument in favor of his bill before the subcommittee. Subsequently, he was questioned in great detail by members of the subcommittee. His arguments, and responses to the questions of the other committee members, reveal his obfuscations and evasive nature.
First, Representative Williams tried to argue for repeal, based on his position that repeal of SYG would not effect a citizen’s rights to defend himself inside his home under the Castle Doctrine.
THAT was pure obfuscation on his part, since SYG is actually an EXTENSION of the Castle Doctrine that removes the “duty to retreat” OUTSIDE of the home. It took quite a while, and a LOT of direct questions by other committee members to  redirect the issue back to the relevant topic, which was revealed when one diminutive female committee member (and another former LEO committee member) pointed out that the true issue was that requiring a crime victim to turn and run places them in MORE danger than if they were allowed to stand their ground and use deadly force.
THIS ended Rep. Williams obfuscation, and he finally had to acknowledge that what he wants to do is remove IMMUNITY from the statutes.
Daryl Parks spoke on behalf of the bill (@ the 2:09 mark of the video) and offered the ridiculous argument that SYG has created an attitude (in the general public) that fosters irresponsible actions by a citizenry that now feels entitled to use firearms prematurely.

(Legal Insurrection Also Presents The Issue)  Last evening the Florida House conducted a public hearing, judiciary committee debate, and committee vote on HB-4003, which would have done away with Florida’s Stand-Your-Ground law by repealing Florida statute 776.013. Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.
The outcome was that HB-4003 was soundly defeated in committee, thereby ending the effort to repeal Stand-Your-Ground in this year’s legislative session.
776.013 is a multi-part statute that contains not only the primary “Stand-Your-Ground” statute, but also presumptions of reasonable belief of fear of imminent death or grave bodily harm. Thus, if successful, HB-4003 would not only have repealed “Stand-Your-Ground” but also have made it more difficult for law-abiding armed citizens to defend themselves in home invasion, carjacking, and kidnapping scenarios.
HB-4003 was proposed by Rep. Williams, who is not a member of the judiciary committee and therefore not entitled himself to vote on the proposed bill in this setting.  (link)