Polk City Rep. Neil Combee wants to let people fire warning shots if they are threatened, without fear of getting arrested for it. So, he filed a bill to make that a law.
Combee's bill is a response to Marissa Alexander, the 32-year-old African American mother of three who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a gun into the air to ward off her abusive husband. She recently had her conviction overturned and is getting a new trial.
See also: Marissa Alexander Must Be Pardoned By Rick Scott
Combee, a Republican, filed bill HB 89 on Thursday.
The bill would let people defend themselves, like Alexander did, without consequence of jail.
It would, in theory, save a person from the state's "10-20-Life" law if they show their gun or fire a warning shot to detract an attacker.
In August of 2010, Alexander and her then-husband, Rico Gray -- who has a documented case of domestic abuse -- got into a heated dispute.
Frightened for her safety, Alexander fired a warning shot into the wall to ward him off.
Alexander then cited "stand your ground." But the 10-20-Life law derailed her defense and a judge ruled that Alexander was not eligible to use "stand your ground" as a defense because he saw her as the aggressor.
The case got national attention, and even got us to call on Gov. Rick Scott to pardon Alexander.
An appeals court ordered a new trial for Alexander, and prompted Combee to file the bill.
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