PPSIMMONS: We suppose Holder forgot that STAND YOUR GROUND was NEVER an issue in this case or trial.
Attorney General Eric Holder took aim Tuesday at "Stand Your Ground"-style laws — such as the one that figured into the George Zimmerman case — saying they may encourage violence and "undermine public safety."
"It's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods," Holder said in a speech to the NAACP in which he again called the death of Trayvon Martin "unnecessary."
"These laws try to fix something that was never broken," he said.
"There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if — and the 'if' is important — if no safe retreat is available. But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely.
"By allowing — and perhaps encouraging — violent situations to escalate in public — such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long and, unfortunately, has victimized too many who are innocent.
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