Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin have launched a new Change.org petition asking for 21 states to review policies tied to their own “Stand Your Ground” laws. So far, 146,000 people have signed it.
“We’ve started this petition on Change.org as a matter of making sure that no other family will ever have to go through what we have been through,” says Fulton. “No parents should ever have to know what it feels like to watch your child’s killer walk free.”
The petition specifically asks for Governors of those targeted states to support proper reviews of those laws. The family wants lawmakers to take a closer look at laws that may be designed to “protect the aggressors of situations that result in death.”
President Obama and Republican Senator John McCain support the national review. Obama said shortly after the George Zimmerman verdict that the law should be reviewed so it does not encourage citizens use “firearms even if there is a way for them to exit from a situation.”
No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, Fulton believes this issue is greater. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s not ‘Black’ or ‘White’, it’s a wrong and right issue,” says Fulton.
Also, the family started a second petition targeting Florida, where “justifiable” homicides have risen over the last several years.