To: The Alaska State House and The Alaska State Senate
Reject Alaska H.B. 80 - "Stand Your Ground"
Dear Members of the Alaska Legislature,
We are writing to express our strong opinion as citizens of Alaska that H.B. 80, introduced by Rep. Mark Neuman (R), does not become law in our state.
In light of the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida and the controversy surrounding the rights of George Zimmerman to have used the force that he did in the situation he created, we should not be moving towards expanding such laws in our state. Alaskans already have a broad right to self-defense. Rep. Neuman's bill would only give more rights to criminals, making it harder to prove manslaughter or murder charges. Instead we should be finding ways to make our communities and all of the people who live in Alaska safer.
Please reject H.B. 80. We Stand Our Ground to move towards caring for humanity, not creating an environment that divides and frightens.
Sincerely,
Concerned Citizens of the State of Alaska
Why is this important?
Currently, Alaska law gives Alaskan's a broad right to self defense. The proposed law would add wording to the existing law that would allow a person to use deadly force "in any place where the person has a right to be." That could be a sidewalk, a highway, the woods or on private property as long as the person isn't trespassing. The Alaska Legislature is almost done for the year and is unlikely to act on H.B. 80 during this session (H.B. 80 is being reviewed by a Senate committee), but it is important to strongly express our concern that such wording is being considered.