To the editor:

A Florida law passed in 2005 is making headlines because it gives individuals the right to stand their ground and use deadly force against an unarmed person.

Recently, a Florida lawmaker stated that the law was never meant to be applied in cases like Trayvon Martin. When the law was being debated, the media did not take steps to inform the public of the possible far-reaching effects the law would have.

As I listened to the newscasters report the Trayvon Martin story, I asked myself why the media waited until this incident before informing the public of this law’s potential consequence.

One possibility is they did not understand how the law would be used. This demonstrates a potential problem with new laws and mandate.

Because they are written in legal terminology, it is difficult for common individuals to understand a new law’s farreaching effects.

I am confident that if the African-American community had realized how the law would be used, they would have taken measures to keep it from passing.

Another mandate has been passed: a national mandate that denies employers their long-standing beliefs and provides women with a drug that will cause an abortion.

Please join me in contacting lawmakers to reverse this new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate.

Let us make sure that the methods we use to attain a better life do not harm innocent civilians.

Theresa Aiell,
Bath

letters@timesrecord.com