Don't Include Warning Shots in "Stand Your Ground" Laws!

Four years ago, Marissa Alexander fired a single warning shot into the ceiling after her husband threatened to kill her. No one was injured, but she has faced more than 20 years in prison for aggravated assault ever since. This week, Marissa learned that she might not face two decades in prison after all, because Governor Rick Scott extended the state's "Stand Your Ground" law to include warning shots. Though that's great news for Marissa, it's only going to increase gun violence in the state.

Marissa should have been protected under self-defense laws that already exist. Expanding "Stand Your Ground" to include even more potentially deadly actions will not keep more people safe in the long run -- especially considering that even warning shots could hurt innocent passersby.

Just a year and a half after Marissa found herself fearing for her life and her child's, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was murdered on the street in Florida. Trayvon's killer walked free, justifying his decision to chase down an unarmed teenager and shoot him by claiming "self-defense." Who knows what people like George Zimmerman will do when the laws have been even further expanded?

31 states have "Stand Your Ground" laws. They should be working to reduce gun violence, not encourage it. Tell state leaders not to include "warning shots" in "Stand Your Ground" laws!