Fla. Tourists Warned on Deadly Force Law
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 10:33 AM EDT
The Associated Press
By CURT ANDERSON
MIAMI (AP) — Clark Ramm sees shades of the Wild West in Florida's new law giving greater legal protections to people who shoot or use other deadly force when threatened or attacked.
"It seems like everybody ought to be packing a piece," said Ramm, a visitor from Ukiah, Calif., who found out about the law Monday from a gun control group handing out leaflets at Miami International Airport. "I don't know if that's the right thing to do."
The leaflets begin with the words "An Important Notice to Florida Visitors" in bold red type by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
"Do not argue unnecessarily with local people," it says. "If someone appears to be angry with you, maintain to the best of your ability a positive attitude, and do not shout or make threatening gestures."
Florida's "stand your ground" law, which took effect Saturday, means that people no longer must attempt to retreat or defuse a threatening situation before using violence in order to later claim they were acting in self-defense. People already had that right in their homes, but the law now allows them to meet "force with force" in any place they have a legal right to be.
The right to "stand your ground" does not apply if the person is confronted by a law enforcement officer.
Proponents of the measure, pushed by the National Rifle Association, say it will make Florida a safer place, not more dangerous. Gov. Jeb Bush has repeatedly pointed to a 34-year low in state crime statistics to demonstrate that Florida is not a haven for violence.
"It's pure, unadulterated politics," Bush said last week of the Brady Campaign's tactics. "Shame on them."
The Florida tourism industry, however, is taking the campaign seriously, with Visit Florida — the state's official tourism marketing arm — issuing a statement calling Florida "a very safe and secure destination that excels in caring for its visitors."
"We believe that Americans and international visitors are smart enough to understand that the Brady Campaign is one group's political agenda and not a real safety issue," the statement said.
Florida hosts more than 1 million visitors on any given day, with nearly 80 million tourists visiting the state in 2004, according to Visit Florida.
The Brady Campaign leaflets, which the group intends to hand out for about a month at the Miami and Orlando airports, call the measure the "Shoot First" law and urge people to "take sensible precautions" while visiting the state.
"There is no other state in the nation — and no other civilized nation on Earth — that has a law like this," said Brady Campaign spokesman Peter Hamm. "It could cause the most aggressive people in society to overreact."
The group also has taken out ads in major Detroit, Chicago, Boston and London newspapers about the new Florida law.
Several people who got the leaflets at the Miami airport on Monday appeared taken aback by the new law.
"It's a little scary," said Melissa Vosberg, on her way home to the Chicago area after a cruise in the Bahamas. "It's 'shoot first, ask about it later.'"
"Shoot first, ask about it later"? What about the fact that people will still be held -- as they always have -- to legally recognized standards regarding whether use of force was justified?