Supporters of Florida's Stand Your Ground gun law will be testifying in favor of the law before the Governor's special task force. This task force has been charged with the responsibility of reviewing the law in the wake of the controversial George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin incident.
Supporters of the law, including Second Amendment activists, believe that the law should not be changed. As the law is currently written, you have no duty to retreat and may meet force with force - including deadly force - if you reasonably believe that such force is necessary to protect life or limb.
Stand Your Ground takes the Castle Doctrine (which states that you can use lethal force to defend your home from intrusion) and applies it to any place outside of the home where the subject has a lawful right to be. You cannot claim Stand Your Ground protection while in the commission of a crime.
Florida lawmakers will continue to review the law until a decision can be made whether to revise it, repeal it, or leave it as it is.
Eric Matheny is a Miami criminal attorney and Broward criminal attorney.