Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAYVON MARTIN & STAND YOUR GROUND
One of the most divisive racial and political incidents of the early 21st century began in
Florida. On the night of February 26, 2012, 17-year old African American Trayvon Martin
walked to his temporary home in the Central Florida town of Sanford. Martin, clad in a
hoodie, was carrying a pack of Skittles and some Arizona Iced Tea. To get home quickly,
he cut across yards in a gated community. Following him was George Zimmerman, a
28-year-old mixed-race Hispanic and neighborhood watch coordinator. Against the ad-
vice of police, Zimmerman confronted Martin, leading to an altercation. In the subse-
quent fight, Zimmerman received head and facial injuries, and shot and killed the un-
armed Martin.
Zimmerman was taken into police custody and released; under Florida's recently
passed Stand Your Ground law, police did not believe he had committed a crime. Under
the Stand Your Ground statue, in a self-defense incident a victim does not have to exer-
cise the traditional 'Duty to Retreat,' common across American legal code, which states
that someone who kills in self defense must have exhausted their opportunities to avoid
conflict.
Media attention and a subsequent national outcry led to Zimmerman being re-arrested
on a charge of second-degree (ie non-premeditated) murder on April 11, 2012. A trial in
the summer of 2013 found Zimmerman not guilty. The decision outraged many, who felt
Zimmerman had (literally) gotten away with the murder of an unarmed teenager. On the
flip side, gun-rights advocates believed Zimmerman had exercised his rights to self de-
fense during the course of an assault.
The role of 'Stand Your Ground' was invoked and discussed by pundits and commentat-
ors, even though Zimmerman's legal team did not utilize Stand Your Ground in their de-
fensive arguments. Nonetheless, there were calls for boycotts of Florida tourism over the
law. To date, these boycotts have not had much impact on travel in the state. For an excel-
lent overview of the impact of the legislation, read the June 2012 investigation into the law
carried out by the Tampa Bay Times.
It's all too easy to mock Florida for its bumbling 2000 presidential vote, but the HBO movie
Recount
(2008) doesn't. Instead, it cogently shows what happened and unearths the polit-
ical grudges that shadowed an honest recount.
