The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that Florida’s Republican governor has drafted “anti-mob” legislation that would drastically expand the state’s “stand your ground” law ― which currently allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves if they think they’re in danger of being killed or seriously harmed by another person, per Fort Myers’ News-Press.
Critics blasted the bill as a gift to would-be vigilantes. Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb told the outlet he worries that language in the drafted legislation is too vague and gives armed citizens the “power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes ‘criminal mischief.’”
DeSantis’ proposal would expand the “stand your ground” law to property crime and allow the use of force against “violent or disorderly assemblies” or “criminal mischief” occurring within 500 feet of a business that is experiencing “interruption or impairment” due to this conduct, according to the Herald — which said it obtained emails and a copy of the bill draft.
The legislation would also make it a “third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest, offer immunity to drivers who claim to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters who block traffic, and withhold state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement budgets,” the Herald reports.