Janelle Irwin Taylor
Matt Gaetz may now be known primarily for his enthusiastic support for President Donald Trump.
But long before that, the North Florida firebrand was making waves in state politics.
Gaetz served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016. And, like Trump, developed an innate instinct for not caring what people think of him.
“Florida has never given us a president, but I would not bet against Matt Gaetz,” writes Jacob Bacharach in The New Republic, calling him “Trump’s loyal apprentice.”
Gaetz first gained national notoriety after then-House Speaker Will Weatherford tapped him in 2013 to head investigative hearings into whether or not Florida should amend its controversial “Stand Your Ground” laws.
Gaetz famously (depending on your opinion of Stand Your Ground) said he would not change “one damn comma” of the law.
Now on Capitol Hill — describing himself on Twitter as a “Florida man proudly serving the First District in Congress” — Gaetz is continuing his vocal support for the law.
He penned an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel last December supporting the law with a harrowing hypothetical about a young woman attacked on her way to her car.
“Terrified, hurt and with no way to escape, Allison reaches in her purse and pulls out the small revolver she hoped to never use,” Gaetz wrote, explaining she had no choice but to pull the trigger.
“I certainly don’t think Allison is a murderer. And because of ‘stand your ground’ laws, neither does the state of Florida.”
The hearings Gaetz led were the closest activists have come to reforming or repealing Stand Your Ground since it was implemented in 2005. The law is alive and well today in part because of Gaetz’s insistence that it was a necessity to protect victims, not assailants.
“Surprising nobody who has served with him, Matt continues to make his presence known across Florida’s political landscape,” said Rep. Jamie Grant. “And while some folks may see him only as a political machine, they overlook his talent and work ethic on the policy front at their own peril. Few people I’ve ever served with are as capable and committed to policy work as Matt Gaetz.”
Now Gaetz has a new high-profile role as Trump’s most fervent champion during impeachment hearings. He made headlines when he crashed a committee meeting (briefly delaying witness testimony), demanding transparent impeachment proceedings, opening the doors to any members of Congress who wanted to be there.
He did it again when proceedings went public, blasting a constitutional law scholar who quipped that, “while the President can name his son Barron, he cannot make him a baron.” Gaetz used his allotted five minutes of questioning to chiding Pamela Karlan for invoking a minor child in his father’s impeachment. It served as an important moment for Republicans supporting the President because it fueled their claims that the process was a partisan sham rather than a valid investigation.
Gaetz’s relevance in the next decade will continue, based largely on what happens next with Trump.
4 comments
Ron
December 30, 2019 at 10:25 am
Typical. St. Pete Times lite–again.
Paula
December 30, 2019 at 5:35 pm
An ill-mannered bore and a bad politician.
He thinks because he yells he’s effective. Hope he is not re-elected. Gives Florida a bad name.
The fact that Jamie Grant, who gives talks on behalf of the short-term rental industry, and then proposes their bills, endorses him is all the proof anyone needs that Gaetz is a poor choice for Florida residents.
Linda
December 31, 2019 at 12:36 pm
Here here. This man is a fool. Embarrassing Floridians with his nonsense.
Steven M. Harris
January 2, 2020 at 8:43 am
“The hearings Gaetz led were the closest activists have come to reforming or repealing Stand Your Ground since it was implemented in 2005. The law is alive and well today in part because of Gaetz’s insistence that it was a necessity to protect victims, not assailants.”
“Stand Your Ground” (no duty to retreat in certain circumstances before using defensive force) is not a creation of Gaetz or the Florida legislature. Or the NRA. It has roots in early American law, and is now the law in about 35 states. In fact, it rarely is determinative in a self-defense case.
George Zimmerman was on the ground being pummeled. He had no actual duty to retreat under prior or current law because he could not do so. Period. The concept was wholly inapplicable to his trial, and he benefited in no meaningful way by the 2005 statutory amendments, except that he was not immediately arrested.
Stand Your Ground is not a defense (the defense is justification); there is no such thing as normal or usual self-defense as something else. There is also no racial component of such laws. None.
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