Posted on 07/18/2013 2:51:10 PM PDT by Mark
No more strolling on South Beach, no more key lime pie in Key West, no more visiting Mickey at Walt Disney World.
After the not-guilty verdict in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, a California lawmaker called Wednesday for a statewide boycott of Florida.
Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, is drawing up a resolution on behalf of the California Legislative Black Caucus to urge residents of the Golden State to boycott the Sunshine State until the latter repeals its "stand-your-ground" law.
"Another young black child is dead and nobody is being held accountable, said Holden, who is black and has four teenage sons. "It is a true nightmare scenario for every black parent in America.
"By boycotting Florida tourism, conventions and conferences we send a clear message that the death of an unarmed black teenager cannot be tolerated."
A jury on Saturday acquitted George Zimmerman, 29, of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
The verdict following the racially charged murder trial sparked demonstrations in Los Angeles, Oakland and other major U.S. cities.
Prosecutors accused Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, of wrongly believing Martin was criminal because he was black. Defense lawyers argued he shot Martin in self-defense.
The "stand your ground" law, which played an important role in his defense, was approved in 2005 and has since been copied by roughly 30 other states. It allows people fearing for their lives to use deadly force without having to retreat from confrontation, even if it is possible.
Holden's call for California to boycott Florida comes after soul singer Stevie Wonder vowed never again to perform in Florida until the state repeals the self-defense law. The performer declared his position at a concert Sunday, saying he also wouldn't sing in any state or part of the world where the law exists.
Holden said his resolution will be introduced when the state Assembly and Senate recess ends in early August.
The former Pasadena city councilman said it follows similar boycotts of Arizona by Pasadena and Los Angeles after the state passed a controversial immigration enforcement law.
Pasadena experienced its own version of a racially charged shooting last year. Holden was serving on Pasadena's City Council last year when two police officers responding to a bogus 9-1-1 armed robbery call chased another unarmed black teen. They shot and killed Kendrec McDade, a 19-year-old football standout, after he appeared to reach for his waistband.
The McDade shooting drew protests from civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton who called for an end to racial profiling in Pasadena and other cities.
Holden never called for a boycott of his city at the time, and in an interview Wednesday continued to defend the actions of Pasadena police and drew a distinction between the incidents.
"It's two different cases," he said. "It was an individual (McDade) who was fleeing from police. (Trayvon Martin) wasn't fleeing from police, he was fleeing an individual with a gun who was told by police not to.
"The facts of the circumstances are different. One can argue they're the same, but they are different."
Holden said that when he heard the Zimmerman verdict read last week, he was disappointed and saddened. He later asked himself, Didn't Trayvon Martin have a right to stand his ground? What were Trayvon Martin's rights? He said any one of his sons could have been similarly shot, a sad commentary on racial injustice in America.
"That's the fear: that any one of them coming home from school could have been caught in the same situation," he said. "That's what brings the horror of this home."
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dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com
@DN_DanaBart on Twitter
“The “stand your ground” law, which played an important role in his defense...”
AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone please make the stupid go away!
I think the anti-americans are trying to be proactive. That is the only reason I can think of.
Ours in Michigan is almost exactly the same as Florida.
I took great joy in pointing that out to my oh so superior liberal brother in law when he wrote to encourage me to boycott Florida. He didn’t answer when I asked if that meant he wouldn’t be going back to that 6 figure job tomorrow.
Liberals are idiots.
Uh, St, Tray was not a young kid. He was a apprentice Yute.
I blame his absent parents for not keeping him on the straight and narrow and for not being at home that night to supervuse him.
Uh, St, Tray was not a young kid. He was an apprentice Yute.
I blame his absent parents for not keeping him on the straight and narrow and for not being at home that night to supervise him.
You are correct. There is no connection between stand your ground laws and this case.
The liberals decided, for unknown reasons, that it was part of the case. Tell a big lie often enough, and it becomes part of the accepted facts.
de= th
Lets start a boycott of the states that don’t have Stand Your Ground.
This idiot doesn’t know that California’s law is pretty much the same as Florida’s. Maybe he can boycott himself out of the state.
When did St. Tray’s biological parental units call in the missing person’s report?
I was stationed in Key West in the ‘60s, it was a nice, sleepy little island. If all these liberals boycott the place, I might consider going back.
Does this mean that families can go to Disney World without worry of “Gay Days”?
All the red states should have been on this long ago, but you should have had programs for free bus transportation to California for agreement to never return.
Then you could solicit producing law abiders to move from California for tax benefits.
you guys should have been busy for more than two decades now.
California is an oddity. I remember reading that California gun laws are actually pretty free in rural areas. My cousin’s late wife had a permit and did a considerable amount of shooting.
As a Floridian, I would prefer to be boycotted by Michigan and New York.
What a political cesspool. It overflows with corrupted filth.
So, boycott Yosemite, boycott Big Sur, boycott Napa and Sonoma, boycott San Francisco Floridians......
Kaleephornya hates you.
The left doesn’t want to talk about good news.
I wonder, would it be an interesting study to compare the families of Treyvon and Temar? Temar is heroic, Treyvon was a racist thug. Where did these two guys learn their perspective in life? Oh how America needs more Temars.
We are heading to Key West in January.....looking forward to it.
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