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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drafted an “anti-mob” bill that would expand the state’s Stand Your Ground law – a move that some say would allow armed citizens to shoot and potentially kill anyone. person suspected of looting.
DeSantis’ new legislation comes in response to months of protests that frequently lead to riots this summer in Florida and the United States, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer in Minneapolis has knelt at the neck for nearly nine years. minutes.
The legislation aims to prevent “violent and disorderly gatherings” by allowing violence against anyone involved in the “disruption or impairment” of a business, which would be described in the draft as a burglary within 150 meters of a “violent or disorderly gathering”. according to the Miami Herald report on Tuesday.
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“It allows vigilantes to justify their actions,” former Miami-Dade County prosecutor Denise Georges, who has worked with Stand Your Ground cases, told the Miami publication. “It also allows death to be the punishment for a property crime – and that’s a cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot live in a lawless society where suicide is done casually and recklessly. “
The bill also includes measures that would make protest that disrupts the public by blocking traffic a third degree felony. The law would also grant immunity to drivers who unintentionally kill or injure protesters who block traffic.
In addition, the law would allow the state to withhold funds from local governments that are reducing police budgets.
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DeSantis, a staunch supporter of President Trump, who won in Florida by just over three points, allegedly submitted copies of the legislation to the State Senate Committee on Criminal Justice and the House Judiciary Committee, according to reports. emails obtained by the Miami Herald.
“It’s clear that the Trump beauty pageant is still going on with Governors and Senators, all of whom want to be the next Trump,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the publication. “And the governor is clearly a very good competitor.”
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Gelber, a former federal prosecutor, also criticized the Stand Your Ground law when it was passed in 2005.
DeSantis could not immediately be reached by Fox News for comment.
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