DON'T LET IOWA BECOME THE NEXT STAND YOUR GROUND STATE
House Republicans introduced a big omnibus gun bill this week, HSB 133.While there are many concerns with the bill, our biggest concern is the provisions in this bill that would effectively make Iowa a "Stand Your Ground" state.The House Judiciary Committee will vote next week on the entire gun bill package and if it passes it will advance to the Senate.Sen. Brad Zaun chairs the Senate Judiciary and needs to hear from individuals now about "Stand Your Ground" and concerns with the omnibus gun bill. Be at his legislative coffee this Saturday and tell him we don't want Iowa to become a "Stand Your Ground" state and ask for his commitment to stop this bill.Data found that in “Stand Your Ground” states:
- The use of the defense by whites in the shooting of a black person when resulting in a homicide is found to be justifiable 34 percent of the time, while the defense when used by blacks in the shooting of a white person is successful 3.3 percent of the time.
- When an older white man shoots a younger black man with whom he had no prior relationship, the shooting is determined justifiable 49% of the time. Yet when the situation is reversed, and an older black man shoots a younger white man with whom he had no previous relationships, the homicide is only judged justifiable 8% of the time.
- In “Stand Your Ground” states, white-on-black homicides are 354 percent more likely to be ruled justified than white-on-white homicides.
Stand Your Ground states have on average experienced a 53% increase in homicides deemed justifiable in the years following passage of the law, compared with a 5% decrease in states without Stand Your Ground statutes during the same period — an increase disproportionately borne by the black community.
CLICK to add your name to Iowans ready to resist! CLICK HERE to say No RACISM, NO HATE, no "Stand Your Ground" in our state!
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