Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Danny McAuliffeAugust 8, 2018

What began as an intimate protest at a church in Tallahassee over the state’s controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law turned into a small march to the capitol and a subsequent meeting between a senior member of Gov. Rick Scott’s staff and some of the state’s high profile critics of race relations and gun violence, including […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 25, 2018

Whether it’s 2012 or 2018, Gov. Rick Scott hews to the same script when it comes to talking to media about Stand Your Ground cases. The recent killing in Pinellas County of Markeis McGlockton, who was shot by Michael Drejka after a dispute over a parking space at a convenience store got physical, seemingly denoted the paradox at […]

Staff ReportsJuly 24, 2018

The family of a Florida man who was fatally shot by another man he had pushed to the ground demanded Tuesday that prosecutors file charges against the gunman, despite protections that the state’s “stand your ground” law might offer. The family of Markeis McGlockton issued an appeal through an attorney for the public to put […]

Drew WilsonJuly 24, 2018

Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen, also a candidate for Tampa Mayor, on Monday called for the immediate repeal of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Cohen’s statement follows last week’s fatal shooting of Markeis McGlockton in Clearwater. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced Friday that an arrest would not be made because the shooting fell within the bounds […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 28, 2018

Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, a Democratic candidate in Florida’s 5th Congressional District, used the anniversary of Trayvon Martin‘s murder six years ago as part of a fundraising pitch Thursday. Martin, who was gunned down in 2012 by George Zimmerman in Central Florida, was not mentioned in public remarks when Brown was Jacksonville Mayor. However, Brown’s fundraising appeal […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 24, 2018

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With teenagers directly impacted by last week’s massacre in Parkland calling for politicians to stop accepting support funds from the NRA, three activist groups announced this week that they will spend $1 million nationally on registering eligible high-school students to vote in the 2018 midterms, with an emphasis on Florida and California. NextGen America, Giffords: […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 15, 2018

Florida law pre-empts local governments from passing any ordinances which regulate guns, a reality that Tampa residents became acutely aware ofwhen Mayor Bob Buckhorn attempted to keep his downtown safe ahead of the 2012 Republican National Convention. That 2011 law was mentioned briefly at the beginning of Thursday’s Tampa City Council meeting following the mass shooting Wednesday at a high […]

Staff ReportsJuly 26, 2017

Ben Crump is breaking up the band. Crump, a civil-rights attorney who has represented the families of Martin Lee Anderson and Trayvon Martin, Wednesday announced he’s leaving longtime friend and law partner Daryl Parks and teaming up with Orlando mega-lawyer John Morgan to open “Ben Crump Law.” The new firm “will focus on civil rights, […]

Associated PressJuly 4, 2017

A judge ruled Monday that Florida’s lawmakers overstepped their authority in updating the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. In ruling the law unconstitutional, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch said Monday that the changes should have been crafted by the Florida Supreme Court instead of by the Legislature. The Miami Herald reports that the 14-page order is a […]

Mitch PerryJune 4, 2017

After the bloody assault at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando nearly a year ago resulted in the deaths of 49 people, 13 members of the Florida Legislature — 12 Democrats and Miami GOP state Sen. Anitere Flores — were on the losing side of a request to hold a special session on gun regulations. Despite that attitude at the Capitol, Michelle Gajda, the […]

Tag: Trayvon Martin

Rick Scott staffer takes impromptu meeting with Andrew Gillum, clergymen on ‘Stand Your Ground’

Despite six years between Stand Your Ground controversies, Rick Scott’s talking points stay the same

Family wants gunman charged after fatal parking lot dispute

Tampa Councilman Harry Cohen calls for Stand Your Ground repeal

Alvin Brown fundraising off of anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s murder

Activist groups announce plan to pre-register high school students in states represented by pro-NRA legislators

Tampa City Council chair slams state lawmakers after school shooting

Civil-rights attorney Ben Crump to form own law firm

Miami judge: New stand-your-ground law is unconstitutional

In Tampa, public officials call for common sense solutions to end gun violence epidemic