A number of House Democrats are lining up behind the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s threat for an economic boycott of Florida following the not-guilty verdict in the death of Trayvon Martin, reports Mike Lillis of The Hill.
The lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are fierce critics of the process that led to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the fatal shooting last year of the Florida teenager. Exerting pressure on Florida’s economy as Jackson is suggesting, they said, could help overturn the state’s controversial stand-your-ground laws that many contend contributed to the tragedy.
“That’s probably the best strategy, because people understand dollars and cents,” Rep. Lacy Clay said Friday. “And they understand, if there’s a significant drop-off in revenues – at conventions, at Disney World and Universal Studios – that that will get the attention of the powerful.”
Clay said he’d like to see “a multi-pronged strategy” that includes legislation, “getting laws overturned by courts, as well as an economic boycott.
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