Such laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, stand-your-ground laws eliminate a person’s duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat.
Zimmerman didn’t invoke stand-your-ground, relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors’ instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense.
Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday’s rallies.
In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son.
”This could be any one of our children,” he said. ”Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your child.”
He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. ”I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he said.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin.
Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman’s lawyers have said their client wasn’t driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood.
Associated Press writers Philip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Amanda Lee Myers in Cincinnati, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.
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