Florida Moms Demand Action Responds to Gov. DeSantis’ Stand Your Ground Expansion

The Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement in response to Gov. DeSantis’ draft legislation which would create an unprecedented expansion of Florida’s so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, going so far as to enable Floridians to kill someone for something as minor as property damage from graffiti. 

“Florida’s hate-fueling, so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, already encourages violence and deadly vigilantism — especially against Black Floridians. Governor DeSantis’ proposal would make it even worse and embolden white supremacists,” said Jenna Preble, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action. “If the governor really wanted to improve public safety, he’d support legislation making sure every gun sale goes through a background check.”

Stand Your Ground laws are associated with clear increases in gun homicides and encourage violence, often among those with violent backgrounds. And when white shooters kill Black victims, the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable 11 times more frequently than when the shooter is Black and the victim is white. More information about Stand Your Ground laws is available here.