Representative Matt Gaetz, a self-proclaimed “outspoken North Florida Republican, known for his tell it like is style and no holds barred delivery,” was selected to lead the Stand Your Ground Task Force by House Speaker Will Weatherford. Gaetz has made his opinion clear on the matter – saying that he believes Stand Your Ground is good public policy for Florida and that it puts the law on the side of victims. And this November 7, he will have a chance to hear from Floridians, as well as his colleagues – many who will have differing opinions from his own – during the first hearing on the Stand Your Ground Law that he will be chairing.
Ahead of this significant hearing, we wanted to ask Representative Gaetz a few questions about Stand Your Ground and how he envisions these hearings going.
Question:
Representative, you’ve made your opinion on Stand Your Ground pretty clear, should we take that as a signal that the decision has already been made and this is just a show for the public?
Answer:
Not at all – I only represent one opinion, and any question and subsequent decision that comes before this legislature, must be dealt with and agreed upon by the majority of this governing body. And, the reason behind these hearings is that before we take any steps whatsoever, we first want to hear from our fellow Floridians about how they feel about the current Stand Your Ground Law and Castle Doctrine.
Now, I’ve traveled my district and have heard from my constituents that they, like me, feel strongly about the second amendment, and they believe in self-defense, and believe if their life or the lives of their loved ones are threatened they want to be able to defend themselves. That said, we want to hear everyone’s opinion from the Panhandle to South Beach so we can look at this holistically, and that is why we are inviting the public to come out and share their opinion with us on November 7.
Question:
Do you anticipate these meetings being tense? Are you worried that you will only hear polarizing opinions that won’t help you draw any type of conclusion?
Answer:
I think that this is a topic people are highly passionate about on both sides and we will hear a lot of ardent opinions from the public. But what I hope is, at the end of the day, we can come together, synthesize all of the differing opinions we heard at the hearing, have a deliberate discussion about the law, and then and only then, make a decision on how to move forward in terms of the Stand Your Ground Law.
Question:
The tragic Trayvon Martin case obviously elevated the Stand Your Ground Law to a national conversation – are you worried that any hearing will devolve into a conversation about that case alone rather than focusing on the flaws and/or merits of the Stand Your Ground Law?
Answer:
The shooting death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. However, I have said it before and will say it again, our Constitution leaves it to a jury of twelve citizens to decide whether a crime was committed and, if so, who committed it. In this case, George Zimmerman was acquitted by a jury of his peers.
As Chair of this task force, I am responsible for keeping our conversation on track and I truly believe that these hearings will be a great opportunity for the people of Florida to have a conversation about what the Stand Your Ground law really does, why it was enacted and who it does and does not protect. I’m looking forward to a fruitful conversation and hearing from all those who wish to share their opinions with us.
