The family of an unarmed Jacksonville teenager killed after a dispute about loud music is calling for a repeal of the controversial Stand Your Ground law. Jordan Davis’s shooting death happened in November, just as the state task force convened to examine Stand Your Ground was issuing its report.
At at a press conference in Jacksonville on Friday, the Florida president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Rev. R.L. Gundy, called for a repeal of Stand Your Ground.
“We no longer tolerate the senseless murdering of our children, no matter their color or perceived difference. These acts of brutality against young black men are becoming all too commonplace," he said.
It’s not clear whether Davis’s killer, 45-year-old Michael Dunn, is planning to use the Stand Your Ground defense.
But Davis’s death has been attracting national attention for its similarity to the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford in February. Martin’s death sparked an outcry over the Stand Your Ground law that his killer, George Zimmerman, used to defend his actions.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott assembled the task force to examine the law, and it just issued a recommendation that the law is mostly OK as it’s written.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is planning to spread its Stand Your Ground-repeal campaign at upcoming sporting events, including the Orange, Gator and Citrus Bowls.