Armed citizens would not be able to automatically cite “stand your ground” protections if they provoke or pursue their assailants following confrontations under a measure filed by the Senate Democratic leader.
Responding to the death earlier this year of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer, Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, introduced a bill (SB 136) that would allow law enforcement officers to arrest suspects who invoke the state’s controversial stand-your-ground law under questionable circumstances.
