The National Rifle Association (NRA) is looking to get the controversial "stand your ground" law pushed in all 50 states. First passed in Florida in 2005, the legislation allows people who feel threatened to use deadly force—as George Zimmerman allegedly did when he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman, who has not been charged for the shooting, has been protected under this law although the case is now being investigated by federal authorities.
Currently, 24 states enforce the "stand your ground" law and the NRA is lobbying to have all 50 states join in. Critics call the law the "shoot first" law because it authorizes citizens to use deadly force even if the person who makes them feel threatened is, like Martin, unarmed.
Why would the NRA try to push this law now, of all times? How sad is it that the largely conservative organization is trying to take advantage of the publicity "stand your ground" has received because of Trayvon Martin's murder?
