TRAYVON: KILLED BY LEGISLATION

If you can't make the connection between GOP policies and social injustice,
then you are living in a fantasy world. No justice, no peace.

Rochester, N.Y. -- Today, more American civilians are killing people and claiming self-defense. This comes at a time in our nation’s history when the overall U.S. homicide rate is declining while more civilians are killing each other and claiming self-defense--a trend that is most pronounced in states with new 'stand your ground' laws.

The Voice Reporter was sickened by the news that NYS Senator George Maziarz is asking the state legislature to pass a similar version of the Stand Your Ground Law, which essentially makes it easier to kill people with no consequences.

These laws, which grant people more leeway to attack and even kill someone who is threatening them, are attracting close scrutiny following February's controversial killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida by a neighborhood watchman. Florida has one of the broadest self-defense laws of the 25 states with some edict of a 'stand your ground' principle.

In the wake of the controversy, New York State Senate Democrats have asked Republican State Senator George Maziarz to withdraw his proposed "Stand Your Ground" bill . In a prepared statement they said, "This legislation has the effect of justifying murder because of a perceived threat, even in cases where that perception appears to be based more on racial stereotyping than on any real danger," noting that the bill's language is exactly the same as Florida's.

So-called justifiable homicides nearly doubled from 2000 to 2010, the most recent data available, when 326 were reported, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of crime statistics from all 50 states. Over that same 11-year period, total killings averaged roughly 16,000 a year, according to the state figures.