Race and Stand Your Ground

One topic related to law and order that Democrats will definitely attack Bush on is the "Stand Your Ground" law. The law, which passed in Florida with Jeb Bush's signature and exists in other states, allows citizens to use deadly force to defend themselves, rather than retreating, if they reasonably believe they face imminent risk of severe injury in a public place. The law received massive nationwide media attention in 2012 when George Zimmerman shot dead Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, in his neighborhood after the two of them became involved in a fight. Zimmerman was found not guilty at trial. Critics of the law say that, in that case and others, it is unfairly invoked to allow for people to use excessive force. When asked about it in 2012, Bush said, "This law does not apply to this particular circumstance." Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara has argued that "Stand Your Ground" didn't apply because Zimmerman was pinned down in the fight and didn't have the possibility of retreating. What is undeniable is that the particular case and the larger issue is extremely controversial.

This year, as media attention has been focused on some cases of police officers who shot dead black men and went unindicted, issues of race and violence are unavoidable. Again, the cases are hotly contested by both sides. In the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which was instrumental in launching the focus, evidence suggests that Brown punched the officer and may have tried to grab his gun. Two miles away in Berkeley, Mo., Antonio Martin pointing a gun at a police officer before he was fatally shot, but nonetheless protesters still descend on the site of his death.

Again, what is important is what the public thinks of this issue. A 2013 poll by Quinnipiac University found support for "Stand Your Ground" outweighing opposition 53 percent to 40 percent nationally, with large gaps between Republicans and Democrats and blacks and whites. Just 37 percent of African-Americans support it, and Bush won't be helped winning black votes by his 1994 comment when asked what he would do to "help blacks" that, "It's time to strive for a society where there's equality of opportunity, not equality of results. So I'm going to answer your question by saying: probably nothing."

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