OPEN MIC Repeal “Stand Your Ground”
Last Friday marked nine years since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s life was cut far too short. He should have turned 26 on Feb. 26, but instead, a self-appointed vigilante killed him in cold blood and then was shielded from conviction by Florida’s dangerous Stand Your Ground law.
Sadly, Trayvon’s story is not unique, as Black children and adults alike are targeted and told by society, from infancy, that their lives do not matter.
Across the country, state legislators continue to pass Stand Your Ground laws inspired by Florida’s — the first in the nation to adopt such a law — despite the fact we’ve repeatedly seen it encourage violence and a shoot-first mentality, especially against Black men. Enough.
It’s why State Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby and I have introduced SB 1052, the Self-Defense Restoration Act, to repeal Stand Your Ground once and for all in Florida. I urge my colleagues to take action and join us. The Legislature has a responsibility to keep people safe — not put them in further danger.
Despite claims that Stand Your Ground deters crime, research reveals the exact opposite. Since it was enacted in 2005, firearm homicides have actually increased. Deadly force in times of confrontation, when things can be safely deescalated, should never be the answer.
Leaders must focus on the actual life-or-death issues, now more than ever. As we grieve the loss of more than 30,000 Floridian because of COVID-19, the last thing our communities need are more senseless deaths.
MIAMI REPUBLICANS
Re the Feb. 26 story “Miami Republican flips vote on bill to provide protections for LGBTQ people:” Congressional Reps. Carlos Gimenez, Maria Elvira Salazar and Mario Diaz-Balart voted against protecting the rights of their LGBTQ constituents because the bill didn’t exempt religious organizations from discriminating.
If a religious organization wants to teach that those who don’t comply with its rules are going to burn in its afterlife hell, let it. That is its religious freedom.
If, on the other hand, a religious organizationwants to discriminate in the secular world, be it jobs, benefits, politics, education and more, let’s just be honest about what that is: an American Taliban.
That is foul, in conflict with the First Amendment and un-American. Shame on them.
BETTER DETENTION?
What could the Homestead Detention Center offer that will allow us to sleep at night knowing that in our back yard, children who have been separated from their families are locked up in temporary facility near a super fund site and run by a for-profit company that our government pays?
The Washington Post reported that another Trump-era facility that is reopening, Carrizo Springs, has a “Bienvenidos” sign and a trailer for a hair salon. Prisons have hair salons. A golden cage is still a cage.
More disturbing than the better-conditions narrative is the idea that reopening these influx facilities is the only option. Our government needs to find placement in licensed, homelike, childcare sites or in most cases, with the sponsor families with whom they came to live.
We are told the latter is not safe, that sponsors must be properly vetted.
The real danger is a prison where there is neglect and abuse, and no one knows your name.
CARBON FEE
Re the Feb. 21 column by Andres Oppenheimer, “Miami’s beaches ‘will be all gone,’ Bill Gates warns, and corrective action must be drastic:” Reducing carbon emissions to almost zero by 2050 will be impossible without a significant reduction of fossil fuels.
An increase in green energy does not always equal a decrease in fossil fuels. A possible solution is a carbon fee and dividend, which will turn the market into one of our greatest tools to fight climate change. This policy has the support of more than 100 municipalities. If Congress passes this policy soon, it will show its commitment to a real solution to one of the most pressing issues of our time.
All these efforts will protect our beautiful shores and strengthen Miami’s legacy as a city worth bragging about.
PROTEST VIEWPOINTS
Re the Feb. 21 story “Former Florida cop went live on Facebook during the Capitol riot. Now he is charged:” Nicholes Lentz admitted to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 because he felt he had that right, and police could not stop it. He did not seem to worry about the ramifications of this riot or how his community would look afterward. It’s a blatant example of white privilege.
In contrast, the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests were painted in a negative light by many media sources. Both protests were held in the name of justice. The individuals at the Capitol riot felt that protesting for their issue was justified, but the BLM protests were not.
Though one shouldn’t assume that all those involved in the Capitol riots were white and against BLM, based on who their favored presidential candidate was, it does not seem like a long shot.
HISTORIC PROGRESS
When I graduated as an infantry second lieutenant at Officer Candidate
School at Fort Benning in 1952, I was assigned to train others as part of one of two remaining companies in the Army with allwhite officers and all-Black enlisted men.
I then was sent to Korea, where my last commanding officer was a brave decorated African-American captain.
SPORTS AND THE VIRUS
How is sending students across town to participate in football, basketball and soccer games consistent with limiting the spread of COVID-19?
NANCY A. MEYER
JOHN S. KNIGHT (1894-1981)
MONICA R. RICHARDSON
NANCY ANCRUM
JAMES L. KNIGHT (1909-1991)