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Court Decision Likely to Spark Stand Your Ground Debate

July 13th, 2015 by Mike Vasilinda

A state Supreme Court ruling requiring Stand Your Ground defendants to prove their innocence has the National Rifle Association hopping mad. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the decision will likely result in state lawmakers getting involved.

It was Christmas 2011 when a car nearly ran an Indiana family off the road on their way to Disneyworld. Jared Breatherick made a frantic 911 call.

“And he stopped in the middle of the road and won’t move his vehicle.”

 

When the other driver approached,  Breatherick help up his holstered gun and the driver backed off. That driver made his own 9-1-1 call.

“He has a gun pointed to me on the back of my car.”

Now the Supreme Court has upheld Breatherick being charged with aggravated assault.  The court also ruled it was up to Breatherick to prove he was entitled to stand your ground immunity, not prosecutors to prove he wasn’t. Marion Hammer of the National Rifle Association says the decision is an assault on second amendment rights.

“Under our system of justice, you are innocent until the state proves you guilty. They have reversed that. If you protect yourself and your family against the criminal, you are now guilty until proven innocent” says Hammer.

Lawmakers are almost certain to get involved in coming months with legislation that will clarify or minimize what the court has done.

State Rep. Alan Williams says the ruling is now an opportunity for lawmakers to scrap stand your ground and start over.

“There are provisions of the law that allow aggressors to get away with murder, so I want us to repeal it and start over, so hopefully this is our opportunity” says Williams.

Legislation, if filed, could reignite the Stand Your Ground battle as early as September.

The NRA says the court decision will have a chilling effect on people willing to protect themselves or their families because people will be afraid of being charged with a crime and may hesitate when danger is imminent.

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