Stand Your Ground (But It's Tough With All The Bodies)

Meet the woman behind Florida's Kill The Darkies "Stand Your Ground" law:  Marion Hammer, first female president of the National Rifle Association and the lobbyist force behind pushing laws like this in Florida since 1978.  Florida Republican Dennis Baxley, who sponsored the law, recalls the story:

Baxley, who worked closely with Hammer on Stand Your Ground, considers her "a tremendous inspiration."

The case of 77-year-old James Workman inspired the law that became Stand Your Ground. The retired oil worker from Pensacola was living in a trailer outside his hurricane-damaged house when he shot and killed 35-year-old Rodney Dean Cox on November 3, 2004. His wife was on the phone with 911, and he had fired a warning shot first.

Prosecutors declined to prosecute Workman, ruling the shooting was justified under the legal theory that homeowners have a right to defend themselves and their property from imminent harm.

"It was months before he knew whether or not he was going to be charged with a crime for simply defending his own life and his property," Baxley said. "That is not right, and Marion talked to me about this bill that would firm up the self-defense posture."

Hammer sold the legislation like no one else could. She presented an emotionally compelling case, telling lawmakers: "You can't expect a victim to wait before taking action to protect herself, and say: 'Excuse me, Mr. Criminal, did you drag me into this alley to rape and kill me or do you just want to beat me up and steal my purse?'"

She blasted the bill's opponents as "bleeding-heart criminal coddlers."

"She's so determined," said Baxley, a funeral director. "She's very clear on what her concerns are for people, and she's absolutely tireless in any political fight. She doesn't want to see anybody victimized. She is absolutely vibrant in protecting the Second Amendment."

You know, victimized like Trayvon Martin, who is dead.  But hey, you gotta break a few eggs in the Gunshine State, where you can carry a concealed weapon even with an arrest record, like George Zimmerman had a permit for, because he hadn't been convicted of a violent felony.  That law that's been on Florida's books now for 25 years.

In fact, some 6% of Florida adults have a concealed carry permit, far more than twice the average of any other state in the nation.  In fact, as long as you pass the class and don't have a violent felony on your record, you get the permit.

Bang bang bang.