Dems Back Off 'Trayvon Amendment'

The controversial “Trayvon Amendment” proposed by House Democrats, which would have punished states for having “Stand Your Ground” laws on their books, has been withdrawn by the Democrats. The amendment was named after Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, under disputed circumstances.

Apparently, the amendment process was mishandled in this case, and it was ruled out of order. One of the main sponsors of the amendment, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), said that he wanted to choose a better time to push the issue, even though just yesterday, Ellison was stumping for the amendment with fervency: “Shoot-first laws make prosecutions harder because they presume the use of deadly force is reasonable,” he said.