Transgender activist Janet Mock has, of course, been all over the news over the past year for her impassioned fight for transgender awareness and rights. But during a recent stop on “HuffPost Live,” Mock tackled the issue of the “stand-your-ground” law and criticized the way in which it unfairly targets black and brown women.
Mock discussed the controversial law with host Marc Lamont Hill while talking about Marissa Alexander, a black woman from Florida who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing off a warning shot at her abusive husband in 2010 in an effort to defend herself.
Over the past year, Alexander has been a key figure in the “stand-your-ground” law controversy as many activists and protestors have pointed out that the law protected people like George Zimmerman but left no protection for black men and women like Alexander.
“As Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, put it, ‘stand your ground’ laws target black males. Black and brown boys do not benefit from the ‘stand your ground’ law. As Marissa’s case shows, black and brown girls do not benefit either,” Mock said.
“I think that we also have to respect Marissa’s agency and her choice of representation to say what is best for her in this situation,” Mocked added about balancing the issue of wanting Alexander set free versus the idea of keeping “stand your ground” laws if they can be fairly applied to all races.
We agree with Mock about the issues surrounding “stand your ground” laws and although the issue of fighting to rectify the problem with the laws or fighting to ditch them altogether is up for debate, we certainly think Alexander should be set free. – nicholas robinson
