By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 5, 2017……… A bill that would shift a key burden of proof in “stand your ground” cases was approved Tuesday by a divided House, with Republicans saying it would restore the intent of the controversial self-defense law and Democrats arguing it would increase gun violence.
The House voted 74-39 for the measure (SB 128), which is supported by Second Amendment groups and now will go back to the Senate. The bill would shift a burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors in pre-trial hearings and would reverse a 2015 interpretation of the “stand your ground” law by the Florida Supreme Court.
Rep. Julio Gonzalez, R-Venice, said the proposal would restore the original intent of the 2005 law, as the court’s interpretation “got it wrong.”
“It is not the court’s role to impose their wisdom on us,” Gonzalez said. “It is our job, through this collective body of incredibly diverse individuals, it is our job to argue, to discuss, to bend a few arms, to come to a conclusion. … The court’s job is to interpret what our wisdom gives to them as their directive.”
