Will Weatherford, the Republican speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives, said on Friday that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach), chair of the House’s Criminal Justice subcommittee, will hold hearings on the “Stand Your Ground†law sometime this fall.
“Our evaluation of its effectiveness should be guided by objective information, not by political expediency,” Weatherford wrote in an op-ed piece for the Tampa Tribune. “Does the law keep the innocent safer? Is it being applied fairly? Are there ways we can make this law clearer and more understandable.”
Gov. Rick Scott has refused to ask for a special session, as have Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz. However the hearings might end the protests in Tallahassee.
SaintPetersblog reports that: “Weatherford’s announcement of a hearing accomplishes a top goal by the Dream Defenders, a group of activists who are entering their fourth week in holding a sit-in at the Capitol. Members of the group welcomed the news Friday of hearings because they said it will continue to shine a national spotlight on their cause.”
Rep. Gaetz is also quoted in the blog: “I don’t support changing one damn comma of the stand your ground law.” –which leaves little chance that any changes to law will come out of the hearings.