Schumer: Re-Examine All 'Stand Your Ground' Laws

NY senator fears laws could be increasing violence
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 26, 2012 4:07 AM CDT
Chuck Schumer: Re-Examine All 'Stand Your Ground' Laws
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 8, 2012.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is calling on the Department of Justice to re-examine measures in all 24 states that have "Stand Your Ground" self-defense laws, reports CBS News. Calling Stand Your Ground "a whole new concept in our jurisprudence," Schumer is urging an investigation to see "whether they actually increase, rather than decrease, violence, whether they actually prevent law enforcement from prosecuting cases where a real crime has been committed."

Florida police have claimed that their state's version of Stand Your Ground prohibited them from arresting George Zimmerman for the shooting of Trayvon Martin. "I think we should examine this law," Schumer said on Face the Nation. "They're all new, they've been passed very, very quickly, and I think the states who passed them, if they find out the real facts, they may decide to repeal them." (More George Zimmerman stories.)

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