Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate has passed a bill that would expand the state's "stand your ground" law to place more burden on prosecutors to prove self-defense wasn't a factor when charging someone with assaulting or killing another person.
The Senate voted 24-12 for the bill on Thursday. If it becomes law, the prosecution would have to prove at a pretrial hearing that a defendant invoking stand your ground wasn't acting in self-defense. Right now the burden of proof is on the defendant.
The Senate also unanimously passed two gun bills. One would outlaw firing a gun in densely populated areas. The other would give judges flexibility in sentencing people for aggravated assault while possessing a gun rather than being forced to issue at least a 10-year sentence.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
