08x12 - Stand-your-ground laws

[bunniefuu]

Hi there!

Welcome to the show, still

Taking place in this blank void,

Which I've now been in so long

I'm about to have to get it

Waxed and bleached again.

It's been a busy week, from a

Cyberattack forcing the shutdown

Of a top u.s. Pipeline to

Vaccinations continuing to roll

Out, with cities and states

Incentivizing people to get

Them.

Ohio, for instance, is offering

A prize of up to $1 million for

Getting the vaccine, while

New york city is offering free

Shake shack, which our mayor

Bill de blasio tried to sell in

The least appetizing way

Imaginable.

Just think of this when you

Think of vaccination...

Mmm, vaccination...

Mmm...

I'm getting a very good

Feeling...

About vaccination right this

Moment.

Nope.

That's a no, bill.

No to everything there.

No to the uncomfortably loud

Chewing.

And definitely no to the "mmm."

You sound like a sexually

Frustrated cow trying and

Failing to climax.

And look, I'd love to talk for

The rest of the show about how

Terrible it is to watch

Bill de blasio eat a burger.

But the thing is, I can't.

Instead... If I may quote the

Riskiest thing you could

Possibly say on a first date...

"Let's talk about israel."

Because the biggest news of the

Week has obviously been this.

This morning, the worst

v*olence in years between

Israelis and palestinians is

Intensifying.

Israel's m*llitary att*cked new

Targets in gaza, the palestinian

Territory where militants are

f*ring hundreds of rockets into

Israel.

And in the israeli-occupied

West bank, palestinian

Protesters fought with police.

Since monday, over 80

Palestinians have been k*lled

And 7 israelis in this

Tit-for-tat w*r.

Okay, there is a lot to

Unpack there, from the horror of

The situation... Which has

Escalated significantly since

Then... To the use of the phrase

"Tit-for-tat w*r" in a conflict

Where you just pointed out one

Side has suffered over ten times

The casualties, something which

Imbalance at play here and how

That often gets obscured by how

We choose to talk about it.

And look, if you're not fluent

In middle east history, I know

This can seem overwhelming...

The latest chapter in a long

Story you haven't read.

So I'm not going to try and

Recap the history here, or

Indeed, propose a solution...

Although, interestingly, I do

Have one.

Because someone with this accent

Always thinks they can fix

Things in the middle east.

I redrew the map a bit, and I

Have a lot of misplaced

Confidence that it would work

Very well.

But this week's actually been a

Pretty good reminder that while

Some things are incredibly

Complex and require a great deal

Of context, others are just

Wrong.

Take, for instance, one of the

Incidents that's been a

Flashpoint...

The planned expulsion of

Palestinians who've lived in the

Sheikh jarrah neighborhood for

Generations.

It's currently tied up in the

Israeli court system with the

Foreign ministry calling it a

"Real estate dispute."

But it's worth knowing that the

U.n.'S commissioner for human

Rights has said these expulsions

Would violate israel's

Obligations under international

Law.

So it is not hard to see why

Sanitized terms like "evictions"

Or "property disputes" rankle

Those who live there.

You grew up in the

Neighborhood.

Your family home is slated for

Eviction.

What is the scene right now?

Well, i... Thank you so much

For having me.

To start, it's not really an

Eviction.

It's forced ethnic displacement,

To be accurate.

Eviction does not imply the

Hundreds and hundreds of heavily

Armed police and army and

Settlers colluding, blowing up

Your doors, throwing your

Children from your windows and

Using brute force to throw you

Out in the street and assaulting

And arresting you should you

Resist.

It doesn't imply the grenades.

It doesn't imply the

Rubber-coated b*ll*ts.

Right.

The thr*at of eviction is

Accurate only in a very

Superficial level... In that one

Day you live somewhere, the next

Day you don't, and that change

Wasn't your choice, but it

Doesn't tell the whole story.

It's like running a headline

That says "matt gaetz reaches

Out to florida youth."

Sure, not inaccurate.

But it's missing some pretty

Crucial details about the exact

Nature of that interaction.

And look, it is true that

Militants from palestinian

Groups like hamas fired over a

Thousand rockets toward israel

This week, and that is

Reprehensible.

But... And I realize this is the

Most load-bearing conjunction in

History, "but"... The majority

Of those rockets thankfully

Didn't reach their target, for a

Very clear reason.

The casualties and the damage

Would have been greater but for

Israeli interceptor rockets, the

So-called iron dome, which blew

Most of the incoming missiles to

Pieces.

Yeah, israel has an

So-called iron dome.

And I know "what if we blew up

The rockets with more rockets?"

Sounds like something someone

Drunkenly wrote down on a napkin

Once, but it is a real m*llitary

Defense system that works.

And I also know not all the

Rockets were sh*t down.

Israeli civilians were k*lled

This week, which is terrible.

But the point is, this isn't

"Tit for tat."

There is a massive imbalance

When it comes to the two sides'

Weaponry and capabilities.

While most of the rockets aimed

Toward israeli citizens this

Week were intercepted, israel's

Air strikes were not.

They hit their targets,

Including a house in a refugee

Camp, a building housing the

Associated press and al jazeera,

And this 13-story office and

Apartment building.

And while israel insisted that

There were m*llitary targets in

That building and that they'd

Destroyed it as humanely as

Possible, even warning people to

Evacuate beforehand, for the

Record, "destroying a civilian

Residence" sure seems like a w*r

Crime regardless of whether you

Send a courtesy heads-up text.

And when dozens of people have

Seen their homes or livelihoods

Destroyed, it doesn't really

Help that the israeli m*llitary

Posted this triumphant meme

Showing the expl*si*n and the

Rubble labeled "before" and

"After."

"Look what we did!

People lived there before, and

Now they can't!

You get it, right?"

And obviously, in general, you

Should probably never meme

A w*r crime.

But if you absolutely have to,

At least go with something less

Boring than the before/after

Template.

Maybe use the drake meme or the

Disaster girl.

There's a building coming down,

So checkmark already there, and

It's a little girl with eyes

That scream "I don't know what

The geneva conventions are, and

Frankly, I don't care."

The more I think about it, it

Works perfectly.

The fact is, the citizens of

Gaza don't have an iron dome to

Protect them the way that the

Citizens of israel do.

It's one of the many ways

They're at a significant

Disadvantage.

Although an israeli m*llitary

Spokesperson tried to push back

On the idea there's much of a

Discrepancy there.

Somebody on twitter said that

The palestinians don't have an

Iron dome.

I say yes, they have an iron

Dome.

It's called "don't fire rockets

At israeli civilians and we

Won't fire anything at gaza."

Yeah.

But there are a couple of

Differences.

"Iron dome," for one, sounds

Much cooler, and also, it has

The significant advantage of

Being an actual defense system

That exists, unlike gaza's,

Which is mostly, "try not to be

Where the bombs are landing."

And it's important to note here,

The vast majority of the

Palestinians in gaza are not

Part of hamas.

They don't get together and all

Decide to launch rockets.

It's not a f*cking co-op board.

But when israel fires rockets at

Gaza, it endangers all

Palestinians there.

Maybe "somebody on twitter"

Could point that out to that

Guy.

To people in gaza, it can seem

Like the only time anyone pays

Attention to what's happening

There is when hamas is f*ring

Rockets, which is understandably

Very frustrating, because

They've been living under a

Suffocating blockade for



And in israel and the occupied

Palestinian territories,

Palestinians are essentially

Being governed by a form of

Apartheid, an assessment signed

Off on by both international and

Israeli human rights groups.

Life in gaza is hard even when

They're not being bombed.

And the u.s. Government has

Implicitly cosigned on the

Brutally hard line israel has

Been taking.

This guy basically gave israel a

Green light to do anything it

Wanted for the last four years,

And while biden has had the

Opportunity to reset that

Relationship, his

Administration's response this

Week has been deeply

Underwhelming, giving a generic

Statement that "israel has a

Right to defend itself."

It's the exact same line that

Obama said and that bush said

Before him.

"Israel has a right to defend

Itself" is just something all

Presidents end up saying out

Loud at some point in office,

Like "my fellow americans" or

"What do you mean there are no

Aliens?

This is some bullshit."

And look, it's not that israel

Doesn't have the right to defend

Itself... It's just that line

Cannot be used to excuse

Absolutely everything.

Multiple children have been

k*lled this week... Eight in a

Single strike just yesterday.

And the u.s. Is heavily

Implicated here, not just by

Serving as israel's diplomatic

Shield at the u.n., But by

Constantly refusing to criticize

The indefensible.

Watch as just this week a state

Department spokesman desperately

Tried to equivocate when asked a

Pretty simple question.

I want to ask on east

Jerusalem.

I don't want to harp on this

Either.

But the israelis k*lled 13

People just now, you know,

Including maybe five or six

Children.

Do you condemn that?

Do you condemn the k*lling of

Children?

Said...

I'm asking, do you condemn

The k*lling of palestinian

Children?

Obviously... And these

Reports are just emerging.

And I understand... I was just

Speaking to the team.

I understand we don't have

Independent confirmation of

Facts on the ground yet, so I'm

Very hesitant to get into

Reports that are just emerging.

Obviously, the deaths of

Civilians, be they israeli or

Palestinians, are something we

Would take very seriously.

Holy sh*t, he just

Asked you, "is child m*rder

Bad?"

This really isn't hard.

Just say yes.

The only scenario in which the

Answer to "is k*lling children

Wrong?" Gets tricky is if you're

A time traveler in 1890s

Austria trying to explain why

You just k*lled the h*tler

Family's bouncing new baby boy.

"I know how this looks, but

It is complicated."

Look, there is a real tendency,

Particularly in america, to

"Both sides" this situation, and

I'm not saying that there aren't

Some areas where that's

Warranted, but it's important to

Recognize there are also areas

Where it's simply not.

Both sides are f*ring rockets,

But one side has one of the most

Advanced militaries in the

World.

Both sides are suffering

Heartbreaking casualties, but

One side is suffering them

Exponentially.

And it's not like the u.s. Is

Operating from the moral high

Ground here.

It's obviously no stranger to

Drone-striking weddings and

Saying, "we were just trying to

Target enemy combatants."

This country has blood on its

Hands too.

And look, if you believe

Israel's actions are warranted

And proportionate this week,

You're welcome to try and make

That argument.

But we've got to start having

This conversation honestly, and

Falling back on convenient

Sanitized terms like

"Real estate disputes" and

"Air strikes on militants" feels

Disingenuous when what you're

Describing is "forcing people

From the homes they've lived in

For decades and k*lling

Civilians and children."

And again, none of this frees

Hamas from responsibility.

But hamas doesn't represent all

Palestinians, just as what

Israel is doing right now

Doesn't represent all israelis,

Or indeed jewish people.

Lots is complicated here, but

Some things are pretty simple.

One side is suffering much more.

And if america really wants to

Help, it might want to seriously

Consider changing its long-held

Position here.

Because for decades, the

Backbone of america's policy in

The middle east has been that

America is an unwavering friend

To israel.

Which is a great thing to be,

But at the end of the day, I

Would hope that a real friend

Will tell me when I'm being an

assh*le and definitely when I'm

Committing a f*cking w*r crime.

And now this.

And now,

Ari melber, rap genius.

Will just not f*cking stop.

Good evening, as smith would

Say.

All this chasing.

To paraphrase lauryn hill, he

May think is more powerful than

Two cleopatra's but he is still

Ready to flip it in the swamp on

A dirty mattress.

There is a lyric for that,

Margaret, which is jay-z said,

Mama always told me don't argue

With fools because people from a

Distance can't see who is who.

I hate the new kanye, the bad

Mood kanye, the news kanye, I

Miss the old kanye.

When I look in the mirror, all I

See is false.

Flaws.

I believe there's a god above

Me.

And that trust the god of

Everything else

That's pretty powerful.

It wasn't at drake who said, the

Game is sold separate.

Another w way to put it is, it

Started from the bottom and now

We are here.

You could put it that way,

Ari, now we... You could.

Moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

g*ns.

Y'know, big pew-pew sticks that

Go boom-boom.

g*ns are everywhere in america,

And I do mean everywhere.

How many g*ns do you think I

Can hide underneath a hawaiian

Shirt?

Of course, we got the gray man.

Got my beretta model 85.

Feels like a kahr armed ct45.

Charter arms undercover .38

Special.

Grandpa dave's old derringer.

This is a sccy cpx-2.

Smith & wesson 442.

Oh, wait!

One more.

North american arms sidewinder

.22 magnum, just in case you

Need something small.

Wow.

That is the second-most

Horrifying thing you can find

Coming at you in a hawaiian

Shirt, right after john lasseter

On "national hug your boss day."

Although I will say, the reveal

Of the thumbelina-sized g*n in

His tommy bahama pocket was an

M. Night shyamalan-worthy twist.

Well done, tiny g*n.

You are both superfluous and

Surprising.

But this story isn't so much

About g*ns themselves, as it is

About one particular law that's

Significantly expanded how

They're used.

I'm talking about

Stand-your-ground laws.



And while they were initially

Pitched as a law-and-order

Measure to protect people forced

To make difficult decisions in

Impossible life-or-death

Situations, in practice they can

Be invoked in incidents that

Really seem like they didn't

Need to turn deadly.

The man who sh*t and k*lled a

Father of four at a florissant

Bar is free tonight.

So far, the gunman's not facing

Charges for the sh**ting at

Show-me's bar and grill.

The st. Louis county

Prosecutor says he needs more

Time to decide whether he'll

Prosecute the gunman.

That's because missouri's

Stand-your-ground law is

Complicated.

Scott beary was k*lled when

An argument over how heavy a dog

Could weigh became physical.

Holy sh*t.

Not only is that a massive

Overreaction, it's a pointless

Argument.

Everyone knows dogs come in a

Wide array of sizes, from

Pocket-sized sweeties to

Slender kings to dense boys to

Droopy boys to big honkin' boys

To standard.

That's just veterinary science.

Stand-your-ground laws gained

Notoriety nearly a decade ago

When police claimed florida's

Law kept them from initially

Arresting george zimmerman after

He sh*t and k*lled 17-year-old

Trayvon martin.

More recently, they've been

Floated as a potential defense

For the K*llers of ahmaud

Arbery.

And those are just two

Devastating examples of many.

And don't worry, we're not going

To show you the

Far-too-plentiful footage of

People getting sh*t in public

Places tonight.

Frankly, we're just one

Senseless m*rder away from hbo

Max putting this show in the

"Endless parade of human misery"

Category alongside "chernobyl"

And "entourage."

But given the prevalence of

Stand-your-ground laws... And

The racial disparities in who

They do, and crucially, don't

Protect... We thought tonight

It'd be worth looking at them.

And let's start with why,

Exactly, stand-your-ground laws

Were created.

Because before they came along,

Most states already had

Self-defense laws on the books

That traditionally included an

Element known as a "duty to

Retreat," meaning you couldn't

Resort to using deadly force in

A confrontation if you could

Safely avoid or de-escalate it.

Now, in many states, an

Exception to this rule was a

So-called "castle doctrine," a

Legal theory arguing that your

Home is your castle, and there,

You can use deadly force much

More broadly to protect yourself

Against intruders.

The key thing stand-your-ground

Laws did was remove that "duty

To retreat" from public places,

Basically extending the castle

Doctrine to anywhere you have a

Legal right to be.

If you have a "reasonable fear"

Someone might hurt you, you have

Just as much right to sh**t them

In the street as you would if

They were coming through the

Window of your house.

And this change was largely

Thanks to the advocacy of one

Woman with a pretty compelling

Story.

Marion hammer says she was

Walking to her car after a long

Day at the office when she was

Accosted by a car full of men.

But she had a surprise for them.

I drew the g*n up through the

Headlights of the car and I

Aimed at the driver.

And somebody in the car

Screamed, "the bitch got a g*n!"

"The bitch got a g*n."

I honestly did not expect to

Hear that come out of that

Woman's mouth.

"Help yourself to some hard

Candies in the ceramic pig"?

Absolutely.

"Take off your boots so you

Don't track anything onto the

Wall-to-wall carpeting"?

Of course.

But a curse word?

In the daylight?

Not in 10,000 contractions of

The universe.

But the important part of her

Story concerns what she claims a

Police chief said to her after

She'd told her story publicly.

The police chief told me,

"Well, in that situation, if

You'd called the police, we'd

Have arrested you, because you

Were the only one who employed

The use of deadly force."

And that made me angry.

And that argument is

The absolute core of the case

For stand-your-ground laws...

That marion hammer could have

Been arrested for simply

Defending herself.

Now, she wasn't, of course.

That didn't happen.

But someone said she might have

Been, and that made her angry.

But a few things.

Because while everything about

Marion hammer seems like a

Sweet, everyday grandmother...

Right down to this feline

Glamour sh*t of her posted on a

Cat breeder's website... You

Should know she's also one the

Country's most powerful g*n

Lobbyists and a former president

Of the nra.

She's personally helped push

Through dozens of g*n laws in

Florida alone, including a 1987

Bill allowing conceal and carry

Permits... A law then

Duplicated, in some form, in

Almost every state, leading to

More than 16 million americans

Currently having licenses to

Carry concealed handguns.

So that margaritaville arsenal

You saw earlier?

You have this dana carvey

Character to thank for that

Situation.

And while it's not entirely

Relevant, hammer's advocacy

Wasn't limited to g*ns.

She also successfully k*lled a

Petition from 10,000 school

Children to change the florida

State bird to the scrub jay, a

Bird so friendly it apparently

Eats peanuts out of your hand.

She objected because, in her

Words, "begging for food isn't

Sweet, " " it's lazy and it's a

Welfare mentality."

And "they eat the eggs of other

Birds, that's robbery and

m*rder.

I don't think scrub jays can

Even sing."

And, okay, slow down there,

Marion.

Set aside "lazy,"

"Welfare mentality," and

"Robbery and m*rder," which is a

Lot to put on a bird.

"Scrub jays can't sing"?

You might want to tell that to

The scrub jay, marion.

See?

That's fine.

Is it great?

No, it's not great.

It's fine.

That's perfectly fine.

Sure, the bird's no mariah, but

It's also no roseanne.

If that bird is anyone, it's

Fergie.

You heard me.

The scrub jay is fergie.

Tweet it, tok it, put it in your

Pocket.

I've made a flimsy take and I'm

Proud of it.

The point is, marion hammer

Played a big part in passing one

Of the country's first

Stand-your-ground laws, in

Florida.

And the passage of that bill was

Immensely useful to the nra

Because it became a model for

Laws they could then push around

The country.

Wayne lapierre openly said at

The time that florida was the

First step of a multi-state

Strategy, and they were going to

Use the tailwind to move from

State legislature to state

Legislature.

And they did.

Just six years later,

Stand-your-ground laws had

Passed in 22 states.

And while, following the k*lling

Of trayvon martin, they became

Increasingly controversial,

States did not stop passing the

Laws... They just slightly

Slowed down.

And dennis baxley, one of the

State representatives who helped

Draft florida's bill, was

Adamant that it should not be

Rolled back.

We should stand beside

Law-abiding citizens.

They should not be treated as a

Criminal if they're doing

Something positive, which is

Stopping a violent act from

Occurring.

There are gonna be times

With close calls near the

Foul line... Is it in or is it

Out?

Who's the assailant and who's

The victim?

Yeah, there are going

To be some close calls.

Is it in or is it out?

Is it right or is it wrong?

Is it self-defense or is it a

m*rder provoked by a debate

About how much a dog can weigh

That turned physical?

Who can say?

Not that guy.

And that is a little bit of the

Point here.

The way most states'

Stand-your-ground laws

Are constructed, they can make

Determining questions of guilt

Incredibly difficult.

Because it all comes down to

Perceived fear... Whether you

Legitimately saw someone as a

thr*at... And that is

Definitionally subjective.

What I'm afraid of... Snakes,

Clowns, and tilda swinton...

Jesus christ! Might not be

What you are.

And it's made even harder by the

Fact that often, the only other

Person who knows what happened

In the incident is dead.

And citing "stand your ground"

As a legal defense has been

Extremely successful.

In florida alone, as of 2012,

Nearly 70% of people who claimed

It as a defense had gone free.

And advocates for these laws

Will tell you that's a good

Thing... That before their

Introduction, good people were

Getting sent to jail all the

Time simply for defending

Themselves.

But they never had much in the

Way of actual evidence for that

Beyond hypotheticals like

Marion hammer's story about how

Someone said she could have gone

To jail, but crucially, didn't.

So stand-your-ground laws

Weren't really fixing a problem

That needed solving.

And the dangers they posed were

Pretty obvious to some from the

Start.

When georgia was debating a

Stand-your-ground law in 2006, a

Local station asked people in

The street what they thought.

And watch as their third

Interviewee realizes something

The first two don't.

I think it'll lower crime,

Myself.

'Cause a person's gonna and

Twice about running up on a

Citizen if he thinks that

Citizen's armed.

If you feel your life's in

Danger, I think... I think it's

A good... A good law.

I think it's gonna get a lot

Of people hurt.

Why's that?

Well, because when you walked

Up to me in a parking lot, I

Didn't know who you were.

And by this law, if I felt that

You threatened me, I could have

Just sh*t you right now.

You know?

I can't... That's not right.

Yeah, that last guy is

Completely right.

And in hindsight, maybe we

Shouldn't have listened to the

Man in the "pride of the south"

Hat, that, by the way, features

A portrait of robert e. Lee over

A confederate flag.

That hat alone should have

Immediately disqualified

Anything he said.

It's like if anthony fauci wore

This bucket hat that says

"Daddy" in the "shrek" font.

If he did, you'd be duty-bound

To ignore anything he said.

'Cause the fact is, we now

Know, overall, not only do

Stand-your-ground laws not deter

Crime, they may actually

Increase v*olence.

In stand-your-ground states,

Homicides overall have increased

Nearly 11% since the laws'

Enactment, whereas in states

Without those laws, the homicide

Rate went down by just over 2%.

In fact, another study found

Such laws translate into an

Additional 600 homicides per

Year.

And if you're thinking, "well,

Come on, you can't draw a

Straight line between these

Specific laws and people's

Actions"... In some cases, you

Very much can, including one of

The very first stand-your-ground

Cases in texas, that of joe

Horn, who called 911 to report a

Burglary happening during the

Day at his next-door neighbor's

House.

I've got a shotgun.

Do you want me to stop him?

Nope, don't do that.

Ain't no property worth sh**ting

Somebody over, okay?

Joe horn sounds clearly

Upset.

I am not gonna let them get

Away with it.

I can't take a chance on getting

k*lled over this, okay?

No.

I'm gonna sh**t.

Gonna sh**t.

But the 911 dispatcher warns

Horn to stay inside at least a

Dozen separate times.

An officer is coming out

There.

I don't want you to go outside

Of that house.

Then horn, sounding angrier

By the moment, cites the new

Texas law.

I have a right to protect

Myself too, sir and you

Understand that.

Yes, you do.

Yes, you do.

And the laws have been

Changed in this country since

September the 1st and you know

It and I know it.

Yeah, joe horn knew

What the laws said, and despite

The dispatcher warning him not

To go outside 14 times, he did

Just that and k*lled two people,

With autopsy reports later

Showing that both men appeared

To have been sh*t in the back.

He was explicitly told that

Property is not worth sh**ting

People over.

Which is obviously true.

And certainly not your

Neighbor's property.

If I found out my neighbor sh*t

And k*lled two people to save my

Ps5, I would move tomorrow.

I know they're hard to get your

Hands on, but jesus christ, calm

Down.

I don't want your blood console.

And thanks to texas' new

Stand-your-ground laws, joe horn

Was never arrested.

And ultimately, a grand jury

Declined to ever charge him with

A crime.

And not only was horn spared any

Consequences, he was later

Celebrated as a hero.

You had 911 on and you said,

I'm gonna go stop them.

You gotta get here, I'm gonna

Stop them.

They said, no, no, no, don't go

Out.

You... You stopped them.

They came towards you.

You sh*t them, right?

Yes, sir.

That's correct.

Okay.

Set aside that joe horn looks

Like what would happen if

Bobby hill grew up and sucked.

The only time it's appropriate

To cheer after someone says "you

sh*t them" is if you're talking

About the individual responsible

For sh**ting this video of a

Family of bears in a swimming

Pool.

"You saw the bears,

You had your phone ready, and

You sh*t them, right?"

"Yes, sir, that's

Correct."

Cue the f*cking applause.

No other circumstances.

None.

And if these laws on their own

Weren't bad enough, there is now

Also a small cottage industry

That's cropped up around them

Selling specialized self-defense

Legal assistance.

Most of these companies offer

Membership packages including

Everything from educational

Training videos to money for

Future legal defense and bond.

The u.s. Concealed carry

Association insists it's

Primarily concerned with

Teaching conflict avoidance, but

It also gives you a wallet-sized

Card with tips on how to handle

The call you make to police

After you've sh*t someone, a

Handy feature their founder

Proudly touts to members.

This is my very own uscca

Card.

You can see my name on it,

Tim schmidt, right on the back

Of the card.

It actually lists the exact

Instructions for what to say to

A responding officer.

Explain I was att*cked, I feared

For my life, and I had to defend

Myself.

Okay, setting aside the

Fact that looks like the most

Boring episode of "sportscenter"

Imaginable, it feels important

To point out they've essentially

Created a get out of jail free

Card.

And that mixed with that man's

Get out of jail free complexion

Is a pretty awful combination.

And at least one of uscca's

Clients apparently took the

Advice on that card and ran with

Carlos garcia's ex-wife,

Yaileen ayala, paints him as a

Loving father who would do

Anything for his children.

She believes he was intoxicated

When he showed up to pick up his

Kids and got into an argument

With the next-door neighbor,

Nick julian iv, over him playing

Loud music in the car.

Julian armed himself with a

Handgun and sh*t garcia, he

Claims in self-defense.

Neighbors came out as julian iv

Was on with 911.



Emergency?

Yes, ma'am, I just had a man

att*ck me in my front yard.

He att*cked me and I had to use

Force.

I was afraid for my life.

Yeah, it seems all you

Have to do is memorize a few key

Phrases and you too could be

Free to sh**t with impunity.

It's basically rosetta stone for

Justified homicides, because

During his 911 call, nick julian

Made sure to say that he feared

For his life three separate

Times and can also be heard

Referring to his wallet and

Saying to someone, "you just

Need to call them, give them the

Account number and my attorney."

And by the time the police

Arrived, he was already on the

Phone with the u.s. Concealed

Carry association setting up his

Legal defense before his victim

Had even been declared dead.

And I know it might seem like

These laws are just a

Free-for-all to sh**t someone

Who scares you.

But the truth is, there are some

Limits.

And you probably know where this

Is going.

Because while most sh**t

Involve people of the same race,

When cases involve sh**t

Across racial lines, there are

Significant disparities in whose

Fear gets believed.

Because the odds a

White-on-black homicide was

Deemed justified by the police

Were 281% greater than the odds

A white-on-white homicide was.

And the expansion of

Stand-your-ground laws have

Appeared to worsen that

Disparity, a fact that I'm

Pretty sure would surprise

Exactly two of these three men.

Not only that, but there are

Multiple examples where you

Would think, if ever a

Stand-your-ground law would

Apply, this would be the case...

And yet, it didn't.

Take siwatu-salama ra, who waved

An unloaded, registered g*n at a

Woman who she believed was

Trying to hit her and her young

Daughter with her car.

But even though her state of

Michigan has a stand-your-ground

Law, and even though that

Incident clearly falls under a

Reasonable definition of

Self-defense without it, and

Even though she didn't even

sh**t the g*n because, again, it

Was unloaded, she was

Sentenced to two years on the

Charge of using a g*n to commit

A felony.

And while, after outcry, she

Was eventually able to plead to

A lesser charge, that wasn't

Before she'd spent a year in

Prison.

And she was pregnant at the time

And was forced to birth in

Shackles.

So despite being introduced to

Increase safety,

Stand-your-ground laws actually

Increase v*olence.

And given around four centuries

Of history, basing a law around

"Who's afraid of who" was always

Going to be dangerous.

It's the reason ohio state

Legislator stephanie howse stood

Up to oppose her state passing

Its stand-your-ground law back

When your presence, when your

Being, your blackness causes

Fear... Do you hear what I'm

Saying?

I've been in these... These

Floors where I hear people tell

Me, "you know people scared of

You."

It's people I have never

Interacted with.

What do you do in places and

Spaces when your presence...

Literally your face, your face

Causes someone to be fearful of

You?

This is a bad idea for people

That look like me.

Exactly.

That's just one of the things

That makes these laws so

Dangerous.

They can exalt a white person's

Fear over a black person's life

And are applied so unevenly that

Siwatu-salama ra gave birth in

Shackles while this guy gets a

f*cking parade.

Stand-your-ground laws have

Contributed to a society where

Vigilantes with g*ns feel they

Have to right to decide what is

Safety, who is a thr*at, and

What the punishment should be.

They've turbo-charged everything

From road-rage incidents to

Pointless disputes over dog

Weights.

So what can we do?

Well, the answer is actually

Pretty simple.

Don't pass any more

Stand-your-ground laws and

Repeal the ones that do exist.

They're redundant solutions to a

Made-up problem, and they're

Actively doing harm.

In the past year, at least 14

Bills have been introduced in

Five states to roll their

Stand-your-ground laws back.

And if you live in a

Stand-your-ground state,

Especially one where those bills

Have been introduced, you should

Absolutely write to your

Representatives to urge them to

Repeal them as soon as possible.

And while you're at it, if you

Live in florida... Or, f*ck it,

Any state... In the interests of

Annoying marion hammer, maybe

Also demand they make your state

Bird the florida scrub jay, so

It can deliver its fergilicious

Victory song.

That's a b-plus bird.

That bird is fine.

That's our show.

Thanks so much for watching.

We'll see you next week.

Good night.