,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,february #e1 #bjac  
,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida 7for herself1  
,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mrs4 ,christensen1 ,ms4 
,sewell of ,alabama1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,ms4   
,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1
 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,ms4 ,chu1 ,ms4 ,brown 
of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4         
,conyers1 and ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of 
,illinois7 submitted the following      
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,honoring the life of     
,trayvon ,martin1 urging the repeal of  
,stand ,your ,ground laws1 and calling  
on the ,united ,states ,government to   
address the crisis of racial profiling4 
,whereas ,trayvon ,martin would have    
celebrated his #ahth birthday on        
,february #e1 #bjac2 ,whereas on        
,february #bf1 #bjab1 ,trayvon ,martin1 
an ,african-,american youth1 was        
horrifically shot and killed while      
walking from his local #g-;,eleven in   

,sanford1 ,florida1 because he was      
viewed as suspicious by ,george         
,zimmerman2 ,whereas ,zimmerman1 a      
self-appointed1 untrained neighborhood  
watch volunteer1 admitted to police that
 he shot ,martin in the chest2 ,whereas 
,trayvon ,martin was racially profiled1 
stalked1 chased1 made to fight for his  
life1 and ultimately murdered2 ,whereas 
,zimmerman raised a self-defense claim  
and ,martin1 as the deceased victim1 was
 unable to rebut such claim2 ,whereas a 
police officer is held accountable for  
every bullet he or she discharges1 and a
 private citizen should be held to the  
same standard with regard to the use of 
deadly physical force2 ,whereas ,trayvon
 ,martin's brutal death and the         
inconceivable fact that his killer      
remains free should not be ignored2     
,whereas over #b1bjj1jjj signatures have
 been collected on an online petition   
demanding justice for ,martin's family2 
,whereas ,zimmerman's unfounded         
assumptions and racial bias led to the  

use of deadly force2 ,whereas ,travyon  
,martin was a victim of the prejudice   
and societal isolation of ,black boys   
and men2 ,whereas this case sets a      
horrific precedent of vigilante justice 
and compromises the integrity of the    
legal system2 ,whereas ,florida's ,stand
 ,your ,ground law has been criticized  
by both the legal and law enforcement   
communities2 ,whereas ,john ,f4         
,timoney1 the former ,miami police      
chief1 ,philadelphia police commissioner
 and deputy police commissioner in ,new 
,york1 has declared ,stand ,your ,ground
 laws to be a recipe for disaster1 which
 give citizens unfettered power and     
discretion with no accountability2      
,whereas over #bj ,states have passed   
and implemented ,stand ,your ,ground    
laws2 ,whereas ,stand ,your ,ground laws
 dramatically and recklessly expand the 
right of citizens to use deadly force1  
and have been the subject of national   
scrutiny in the wake of ,trayvon        
,martin's death2 and ,whereas ,stand    

,your ,ground laws were drafted by      
organizations1 corporations1 and        
individuals that ignored advice from    
experts explaining that such laws would 
compromise public safety1               
disproportionately impact communities of
 color1 and would result in offenders   
circumventing prosecution3 ,now1        
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house of   
,representatives--  7#a7 condemns       
unfounded reliance on ,stand ,your      
,ground laws to protect actions that    
extend far beyond historical use of     
self-defense2  7#b7 urges any ,state    
legislature to reject or repeal ,stand  
,your ,ground legislation2  7#c7 commits
 to developing incentives for ,states to
 find alternatives to ,stand ,your      
,ground legislation such as grants for  
community policing2  7#d7 encourages    
,states to create penalties for         
individuals found to have caused        
substantive harm through racial         
profiling2 and  7#e7 urges the ,united  
,states ,commission on ,civil ,rights to

 seek to elevate the social status of   
,black men and boys by undertaking      
studies to understand and correct the   
underlying causes of higher rates of    
school expulsions and suspensions1      
homicides1 incarceration1 poverty1      
violence1 drug abuse1 as well as income1
 health1 and educational disparities    
among ,black males4