Florida House Keeps Stand Your Ground Law

The Florida House Criminal Justice Subcommittee hearing on the "Stand Your Ground" law was all for show. Committee head Rep. Matt Gaetz made this statement before the hearing.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Fort Walton Beach Republican tapped to lead the hearing, said he would not support changing “one damn comma” of the statute.

Rep. Alan Williams filed a bill to repeal "Stand Your Ground." The subcommittee voted the bill down 2 to 11. The only reason there was a hearing is because of the Dream Defenders and the national media attention from Trayvon Martin's death. "Stand Your Ground" is the law for as long as NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer owns the Florida Republican establishment.

This statement by Rep. Marti Coley caught my attention.

“Today, our state is a safer place and has the lowest crime rate in 42 years,” said Rep. Marti Coley, a Marianna Republican. “Florida’s Stand Your Ground law is solid. It’s good and should not be changed.”

Does Coley have any scientific data to back that claim? A Tampa Bay Times investigative report found drug dealers and gang members were allowed to go free using the "Stand Your Ground" defense. "Stand Your Ground" has given Floridians permission to commit brutal murders.

• People often go free under "stand your ground" in cases that seem to make a mockery of what lawmakers intended. One man killed two unarmed people and walked out of jail. Another shot a man as he lay on the ground. Others went free after shooting their victims in the back. In nearly a third of the cases the Times analyzed, defendants initiated the fight, shot an unarmed person or pursued their victim —and still went free.

I don't know about you, but I don't feel safer. This is less about liberal politics and more about I don't want some maniac having the legal right to shoot me for no good reason.

Religious Leaders Band With Dream Defenders

Religious leaders joined the Dream Defensers during their third week of protests inside the Florida capital.

Imam Rashad Mujahid of the Masjid Al-Nahl mosque in Tallahassee reflected on the role of faith when petitioning a government to change policy.

“One’s faith helps one endure the setbacks sometimes these things take, Mujahid said. “Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, these are people of faith who had a certain discipline and a certain patience that allows them to see beyond their present circumstances.”

It is nice to see an Imam, Rabbi and Episcopal priest band togethet for a good cause. Unfortunately, so much religion had been decisive in our political discourse.

In other news: The Tallahassee Democrat reports Trayvon Martin's parents have taken no position on the Florida boycott started by Stevie Wonder.

Dream Defenders Freedom Rides

The Dream Defenders are attempting to repeal Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. The Dream Defenders have staged a sit-in in front of Gov. Rick Scott's office. Scott has spoken to the Dream Defenders. Mostly, Scott has avoided the capital.

The Dream Defenders are staging freedom rides acrosd the country to bring more protesters to Tallahassee.

FREEDOM RIDES WILL BE DEPARTING FROM MIAMI, ORLANDO, JACKSONVILLE, TAMPA, ATLANTA, WASHINGTON D.C., RALIEGH, NEW YORK CITY, AND PHILADELPHIA. IF YOU ARE IN OR AROUND THOSE CITIES WE HAVE MADE IT EASY FOR YOU TO BE A PART OF THE MOVEMENT MOMENT OF OUR LIFETIME.

You can join the freedom rides by filling out the online form.

More On the Dream Defenders

Here is a video profile of the Dream Defenders protest. The Dream Defenders have vowed to occupy the capital until "Trayvon’s Law" is passed and signed by Gov. Rick Scott. "Trayvon’s Law" would repeal Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

The Dream Defenders mission statement.

On Thursday, July 18th, the Governor finally met with us, but provided no real leadership. Rather than calling for a special session, he is calling for a statewide day of prayer to end racial profiling. But faith without works isn’t justice.

We are taking a stand not only in Trayvon’s memory, but for our worth as people and citizens of Florida. We can not allow Gov. Scott to neglect his responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of all Floridians.

We are here until our struggle for justice is won. And if we are to keep moving forward, we need your support. Governor Scott told us that we need to increase our support. We know that the people of Florida and the nation are behind us but we need to show it. Can you demonstrate you support by signing our petition?

Chris Hayes Interview of Phillip Agnew of Dream Defenders

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

MSNBC host Chris Hayes interviewed Phillip Agnew, Executive Director of Dream Defenders.

Agnew on the Dream Defenders meeting with Gov. Rick Scott.

Thank you for having me again, and i think it was symbolic. I think it was an opportunity, of course, to open up a dialogue, but the governor the benefit of Monday or Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to hear on a number of outlets what our demands were, and so a meeting to further discuss our demands and then to tell us, no, must be symbolic and indicative of what he has determined to be his plan of action moving forward. So, yeah, i do, I think it's a way forward, a beginning of a way forward, but as I said last week, our people and people from around the country have encouraged us to stay. We're determined to stay because we believe that we have a plan to win.

Agnew tells Hayes that the Dream Defenders will stay in the capital until Scott calls a a special session to repeal the "Stand Your Ground" law.

The Dream Defenders

Kathleen McGrory has a good article on the history of the Dream Defenders. The organization was started by Phillip Agnew after the death of 14 year-old Martin Anderson in a Florida juvenile boot camp.

Agnew has experience with civil disobedience —and prolonged stays at the Florida Capitol.

He was the student body vice president at Florida A&M University when 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson was beaten to death at a Florida boot camp in 2006. At the time, Agnew was more interested in parties than protests. But when he realized that Martin Lee Anderson was the same age as his own little brother, Agnew joined student-led efforts to demonstrate at the capitol.

That’s when he got to know Gabriel Pendas and Ahmad Abuznaid, like-minded student leaders at Florida State University.

Agnew, Pendas and Abuznaid graduated from college and went their separate ways. They joined together again to stage a protest March after the George Zimmerman killing of Trayvon Martin made the news. Dream Defenders was created after that. Agnew makes a meager living running Dream Defenders full-time. All other staff works for free.

The Dream Defenders are in for the long haul.

The group leaders say they won’t leave until Scott has convened a special session to consider a Trayvon Martin Civil Rights Act, which would repeal the Stand Your Ground law, and end the school-to-prison pipeline that has led to a high percentage of young black men being incarcerated at an early age.

Update: the Dream Defenders spend fifth day outside Scott's office.