Strike down the "Stand Your Ground" laws

President Obama, Members of the United States Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States of America:

The recent killing of Trayvon Miller calls the attention of The People of America to the laws of fourteen states that allow citizens to kill others in "self defense" without being held accountable. We believe these laws to be invalid under the United States Constitution, and we request and demand that you immediately take action to overturn these statutes through legislation and or litigation.

We believe that the right of citizens to be presumed innocent until proven guilty demands that anyone using deadly force should show just cause for taking the life of someone who is also entitled to the presumption of innocence.

We do not oppose the fundamental concept of self defense. The right to use deadly force in defense of life is well established. However such force must not be used without first exercising all reasonable attempts to avoid confrontation. The threat of an attack must be real and not merely imagined. Attempting to exit from or avoid a potentially lethal confrontation should be considered a necessary legal step in the sequence of events leading to a justified homicide.

This petition cannot be construed to advocate for any cause or legislation other than that which we specifically seek addressed, the elimination of these unnecessary, unconstitutional and dangerous “Stand Your Ground” statutes.

Again, we request and demand that you begin immediate actions to repeal these laws at the federal level.