Ann Arbor, Mich., officials are calling on the state to repeal the controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law while at the same time encouraging stricter gun control laws.
The college town of 114, 925 residents has jumped on the bandwagon to abolish the law in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal, which has been largely pinned on ‘Stand Your Ground.’ Zimmerman’s lawyers, though, never used the law as part of their defense. Michigan’s Self-Defense Act, implemented in 2006 by then-Governor Jennifer Granholm (D), grants people the right to “the use of deadly force” in order to prevent “imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or herself or another individual.”
Earlier this month, Ann Arbor’s City Council voted on a resolution to be sent to state lawmakers repealing the law entirely. But the resolution doesn’t just stop there. It goes on to limit the sale of high-capacity magazines for automatic weapons and implement stricter background checks.
The resolution passed 10-1, with Democratic Councilor Marcia Higgins serving as the only opposing vote. Higgins told The Michigan Daily that while she personally wants to see the self-defense law repealed, it might not actually represent the interests of her constituents.
“I truly believe that individual voices carry much more weight than a collective resolution from City Council,” she told The Michigan Daily. “I agree with everything you have said, but I chose to send a stronger voice, and that is my individual voice.”
Higgins is right about her constituents, too, especially when it comes to Victoria Facchini, a microbiology major at Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan. Facchini, who lives in an off-campus apartment close to the university, carries mace her grandfather gave to her. She told Red Alert Politics she hadn’t heard much about the resolution in general.
Facchini said that while she has always felt safe living in Ann Arbor — mainly because her apartment is so close to the school — she does take extra precautions ever since the ‘Ann Arbor rapist‘ scare two years ago.
From July to September in 2011, seven sexual assault cases were reported and believed by police to have been committed by the same person.
“Everyone freaked out,” Facchini said.
The 22-year-old still doesn’t walk around alone, especially at night.
Michigan’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law also gives individuals the right to use deadly force to protect against sexual violence. If repealed, individuals may no longer have that right.
Many on the council, including Sumi Kailasapathy (D) believe the law to be flawed because it is specifically a disservice to minorities and condones the use of violence.
“We do not live in a post-racial society,” she told Ann Arbor News. “Unfortunately, there are still groups of people who are profiled, stalked and killed because they belong to a stigmatized minority group.”
According to the FBI, violent crime is actually on the decline in Ann Arbor whereas property crime has risen. In fact, a report released in June shows property crime rose by more than 170 reported crimes last year. And in 2011, the city saw the lowest level of crime in a decade.
