Jeb Bush received a polite — but not rowdy — welcome to the National Rifle Association’s annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he frequently referred to a written copy of his remarks throughout his speech and he never ventured beyond the podium.
Bush, the former governor of Florida, is not a gun owner, but he defended his state’s “Stand Your Ground” law and, what he called, “the sacred right of self-defense,” in his address to the NRA.
Bush said he “will match my record against anyone else when it comes to support and defense of the Second Amendment.”
“In Florida you can defend yourself anywhere you have a legal right to be,” Bush said. “You shouldn’t have to choose between being attacked and going to jail.”
Bush, who was the governor of Florida from 1999 through 2007, signed the first “Stand Your Ground” into law in 2005. It was among the most sweeping of its kings, expanding protections for Floridians who use deadly force against people who intrude or attack others’ homes, cars, workplaces, or even on the street. Today, 23 states have these laws, while 18 states have “Castle Doctrine” laws, which are less broad.
“Other states were following our lead,” Bush said.
Although the law was not used by George Zimmerman’s defense team to justify the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, it came under fire by activists who claimed the law emboldened Zimmerman and led to Martin’s death. In 2012, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced their commitment to removing stand your ground laws in every state.
Bush also said Florida has 1.3 million people with concealed carry permits, the highest in the country. And he urged the Obama administration to “Focus more on keeping weapons out of the hands of Islamic terrorists and less on keeping them out of the hands of law-abiding Americans.”
Bush has not officially declared his candidacy, but said, “If I become an active candidate, I will do so with joy in my heart to restore the sense of optimism about the greatest country on the face of the Earth.”
Several possible Republican presidential contenders spoke Friday, including Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former governor Rick Perry, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and former governor Mike Huckabee. Official candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz will also speak Friday, while Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who declared his candidacy Tuesday, was not invited to attend the three-day conference.
