WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz defended stand your ground laws today at a hearing on self-defense legislation, arguing that Washington should leave such decisions to the states.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, who testified at the Senate hearing, echoed Cruz on that point. "Let's leave state criminal law to the consideration of state legislatures," he said.
Stand your ground laws allow people confronted with violence to defend themselves without attempting to flee first. Texas is one of 22 states with such a law, though Texas' law does not include the specific "stand your ground" phrase.
Cruz said opposition to the laws amounted to an attempt to take way individuals' rights to defend themselves. He called self-defense rights a "bedrock liberty."
"The notion that critics of these laws put forth, that if you're attacked on the street by a violent attacker, you're obliged to turn and run rather than defend yourself, is a notion contrary to hundreds of years of our jurisprudence," Cruz said.
The hearing featured emotional testimony from Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin. Fulton called for changes to the laws.
Martin, a black 17-year-old, was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012. Martin was unarmed, though a violent confrontation took place before the shooting.
The incident and Zimmerman's trial, and acquittal, stirred racial tensions and criticism of stand your ground laws.
"The person that shot and killed my son is walking the streets today," Fulton told lawmakers. "This law does not work. We need to seriously take a look at this law."
Her call was supported by Democratic senators and House members at Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, including Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. They argued that stand your ground laws disproportionately harm minorities.
Cruz expressed condolences to Fulton, but blasted opposition to self defense laws as a form of racial politics.
"This is not about politicking, this is not about inflaming racial tensions, though some might try to use it to do that," he said. "This is about the right of everyone to protect themselves, to protect their family."
Cruz asserted that the laws actually benefit non-white Americans, citing statistics that show more minority defendants than white defendants are exonerated under stand your ground laws.
