Year after Trayvon Martin's death, ‘stand your ground’ laws survive

College student Jajuan Kelley covers his mouth with a Skittles wrapper as he rallies against stand your ground …

One year after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by an armed neighborhood watchman, setting off a national debate about race and gun laws, the campaign to change state self-defense laws in Martin's name has petered out.

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer facing second-degree murder charges, said he shot Martin in self defense last Feb. 25 after he decided to follow him in the Sanford, Fla., gated community because Martin looked suspicious. Zimmerman called the police and then approached Martin, and they ended up in a physical fight. Zimmerman, saying he feared for his life, then shot Martin. He was not charged with a crime for several weeks, and his defense attorneys argue he's immune from prosecution under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

The incident led immediately to scrutiny of the law, which is on the books of 20 states in various forms. Basically, "stand your ground" says that people can use lethal force against an attacker without first attempting to retreat if they have reason to fear for their lives. Most states already allowed people to defend themselves in this way if they're attacked at home, but "stand your ground" went a step further to cover all public places.

A Tampa Bay Times analysis of 200 "stand your ground" cases in Florida—the law was adopted there in 2005—found that the law has been inconsistently applied, with one man escaping homicide prosecution even though he left an altercation to get his gun from his car, returned, and then shot the attacker.

After the Martin shooting and subsequent uproar, a coalition of civil rights groups and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the nation's highest-profile gun control advocate, started a campaign, called "Second Chance on Shoot First," to encourage the repeal of these laws. Soon after, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed a task force to study the law. Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least five states with "stand your ground" laws introduced legislation to alter or repeal their laws.

But not much has happened since then on the state level. And last Friday, the Florida task force released its final recommendations on the law, concluding that it works and should not be repealed. (The task force did recommend that prosecutors and law enforcement officers should receive increased training on the law to make sure it is applied consistently.)

In addition, none of the bills to repeal or change "stand your ground" in other states passed.

However, the conversation started by Martin's death may have served to stop state and federal legislators from passing more permissive gun laws that were in the works, says Adam Winkler, a constitutional law expert at UCLA. For example, a federal bill to allow people with concealed weapons to take them to other states that allow concealed carry died out after passing in the House.

"Trayvon Martin really stalled the move for more permissive gun laws," Winkler said. "Newtown ended it."

Since the Dec. 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., Bloomberg and other high-profile gun control advocates have moved away from concealed carry and self-defense issues, and instead focused on encouraging specific reforms on the national level. Lawmakers are focusing on closing loopholes that allow some to avoid background checks before purchasing a weapon, banning high-capacity magazines, and banning some semi-automatic weapons.

Allie L. Braswell, the president and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League, which has worked to encourage the repeal of "stand your ground," said he was "disappointed" that the task force did not release stronger recommendations.

"This law gives people more leeway than I had on the battlefield as a United States Marine," Braswell, a veteran of the Gulf War, said. "When I was engaged in Iraq ... we could not fire until fired upon."

He acknowledged that the issue of repealing "stand your ground" has faded into the background.

"I think it's lost some of its support, unfortunately," Braswell said.

A judge will decide whether Zimmerman is immune from prosecution under "stand your ground" at a special hearing April 22.

Amazon Cell Phone Center

Review: 'Stand Up Guys'

Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin star in "Stand Up Guys."Al Pacino and Christopher Walken star as grumpy old sociopaths in "Stand Up Guys"Pacino and Walken play second-rate Baltimore gangsters in their late 60s "Stand Up Guys" is director Fisher Stevens first dramatic feature

(EW.com) -- In "Stand Up Guys," Al Pacino and Christopher Walken play second-rate Baltimore gangsters in their late 60s who make no bones about what grumpy old sociopaths they've become.

Yet neither one is nearly as slow or creaky as the movie itself. Pacino, eyes burning with life beneath his electric thatch of hair, is Val, who has just gotten out of prison. Walken, whose own gravity-defying mane is practically a character of its own, is Val's old chum Doc, a guy with secret orders to rub out his pal before the next morning.

The two sit around diners, cappuccino joints, and a cruddy apartment, talking about the bad old days. They go to a brothel and crack wise about threesomes and Viagra. Pacino, showing off any way he can, gets onto a dance floor, and Walken commands attention his own way, by staring off into space.

'World War Z' Super Bowl trailer: Watch

Directing his first dramatic feature, Fisher Stevens does his best to give these gravel-voiced legends room to strut their stuff. But that's the problem: The movie is too much of a wide-eyed, ramshackle homage to '70s-acting-class indulgence. It needed much more shape and snap.

'Idol': The Anthem of Zoanette Johnson

Still, when Alan Arkin joins the party as a dying colleague, his antics — at least once he gets behind the wheel of a stolen car — give the film a fuel injection. Stand Up Guys reminds you that these three are still way too good to collapse into shticky self-parody, even when they're in a movie that's practically begging them to. Grade: B-

See the original article at EW.com.

CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.

Jewelry Store from Amazon here

Stand Up to Cancer: On the scene

Image Credit: WireImage

They wanted to move us. And oh, did they know how.

The highlight of the Stand Up to Cancer telethon helmed by Gwyneth Paltrow and a cast of A-list celebrities Friday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was Taylor Swift’s ode to a cancer victim, a 3-year-old boy named Ronan.

If you’re not getting emotional yet, Swift did it for you. The 22-year-old country singer struggled to hold back tears as she sang the touching ballad she wrote after reading a mom’s blog about losing her little boy to neuroblastoma last year. The song begins, “I remember your bare feet down the hallway, I remember your little laugh…”

The audience of Hollywood elite, cancer survivors, and fans choked up as they listened to this and other testimonies aimed at inspiring donors to give funds to the Stand Up to Cancer organization.

If one thing was certain among those in the audience, cancer touches everyone, even the most famous celebrities. Julia Roberts lost her father to cancer when he was 42. She was 10 years old at the time. “One in two men will get cancer,” she tells the audience. That’s half of all the men you know.

Roberts was one of the only speakers to be guided off stage after giving her testimony. This sparked the beginning of what would become a very tearful event for everyone involved. But good tears! Tears of compassion. At least, that’s what those sitting around me in the overlook balcony kept whispering as we cried through every segment of the show.

Justin Timberlake spoke on behalf of pediatric cancer funding by giving a nod to an 11-year-old cancer fighter who sat in the audience with his family. Timberlake’s fiancé, Jessica Biel, also asked for support by noting that “every 3 and 1/2 minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer.” Women wiped their eyes; men put their heads down, and when Alicia Keys sat alone at her piano and sang “Not Even the King,” it was pure waterworks among those in the front few rows.

Musical numbers by Coldplay and Tim McGraw also kept audiences enraptured for 60 minutes of the uninterrupted telethon. The show was simultaneously broadcast without commercial interruptions on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and nearly 20 other networks.

Emma Stone and Matt Damon remembered friends and family lost to this tragic disease, while Tom Hanks also appeared unexpectedly to urge support. Other surprises included Robert Pattinson (he wasn’t originally listed to attend) and the occasional backstage peek-in. More than a dozen celebrities took donations from surprised callers to find out that, yes, the actor you see on TV is actually answering the phone at Stand Up to Cancer. The most notable came when Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet cracked up a lady from Michigan. She was shocked, and so were we, at how moving this operation against cancer had become.

They know how to get you in Hollywood, they know just how. You can’t cry the whole time. You have to laugh a little, too. When Seth Rogan asked for support, he pleaded with the audience to remember that someone out there in the medical community must beat this disease, despite the fact that he “flunked 10th grade science.”

Katie Couric also lightened the otherwise solemn mood when she spoke of preventing colon cancer — she lost her husband to the disease — by making fun of her cleanse regime. “It comes in vanilla, strawberry… I think Chelsea Handler even has one that’s vodka-flavored,” she said. “It is not the tastiest beverage in the world, but it is a small price to pay for potentially saving your own life.”

Jumping on the joke game, Samuel L. Jackson also poked cancer in the rear. He told African-American men to “get their butt to the doctor, literally” in hopes of early detection.

Perhaps these tears of sadness or tears of laughter will add to the cause that in 2008 raised a reported $100 million for its first telethon. “Cancer is one big bully,” Jackson said. It doesn’t look like Hollywood is going to let that stop them from fighting, even if it means getting a little sentimental once in a while.

Related:
Lucy Lawless honors ‘Spartacus’ co-star Andy Whitfield in SU2C Video

Buy apparel and accessories from Amazon here

'Modern Family' star: Why we 'Stand Up to Cancer'

Fans hold signs for the Stand Up to Cancer campaign during the MLB All-Star Game in July 2011 in Phoenix. "Stand Up to Cancer" fundraiser will be on TV Friday at 8 p.m. ETOrganization, backed by entertainment industry, funds researchEric Stonestreet says his family has been touched by cancer, as have so many othersStonestreet: Let's make cancer a thing of the pastEditor's note: Eric Stonestreet plays Cameron Tucker on ABC's comedy series "Modern Family," a role in which he earned a 2010 Emmy Award in the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category.

(CNN) -- I know what you're thinking: What do Justin Timberlake and I have in common? First, we're both responsible for bringing sexy back. Second, we're both standing up to cancer on Friday.

Why? Well, I don't know Justin's connection to cancer, but I do know mine. I lost both of my grandfathers, an uncle and numerous friends to cancer. Additionally, my mother is a cancer survivor. (First, uterine cancer, and then kidney cancer.) And I know that all the stars who are coming out Friday night and all the viewers at home have been personally touched by cancer in some way.

They've seen the havoc the disease can wreak on a person's life, family, friends and immune system. No matter who you are, how wealthy you are, how famous you are, cancer will find a way into your life, affecting you or someone you love.

Every day, 1,600 Americans die from cancer. Eight million people worldwide will die this year from the disease. In the U.S., one in every two men and one out of every three women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetimes.

Stand Up to Cancer is a movement designed to get top researchers from the best medical centers focused on highly specialized projects aimed at bringing new treatments to people faster and making everyone diagnosed with cancer a survivor.

We're gearing up for a national election, yet it's rare to hear leaders from either major political party say anything about cancer. We, the people, must. It's why for years now, I've "spontaneously" showed up at baseball games and other events to support cancer research and on the Friday after Labor Day, I put on one of those fancy T-shirts and stand up to cancer with my friends from film, TV, music and sports.

Say what you want about the entertainment industry (and, really, what hasn't been said?) but on this one, we're getting it right. For all the issues and problems facing us all right now, this is one of the most pressing. It's also one of the most promising.

Scientists and doctors are genuinely excited about the progress in the fight against the disease. Certain cancers have higher survival rates than others. By having dedicated dream teams of scientists collaborating in an unprecedented manner and studying the connections between certain types of cancers, those kinds of cancer with lower survival rates have been put on notice. (That's right, pancreatic cancer, your days are numbered.)

During Friday's broadcast, you will hear first-hand from patients bravely participating in clinical trials and scientists on the front lines of the war against the disease, and your favorite movie stars will share stories of real people, just like my mom, who went through hell and back because of cancer. But after all, we are the entertainment industry, and therefore you will be entertained by the likes of Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift. (I personally picked the music. You're welcome.)

But even with an incredible lineup of stars that includes Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Samuel L. Jackson, one of our executive producers Gwyneth Paltrow and America's newest sweethearts, Olympic gold medalists Gabrielle Douglas and Missy Franklin, there will still be cynics out there.

From the hopeless: "Cancer will never be cured. Why bother?" To the apathetic: "The war on cancer is decades old. Why bother?" To those whose sole purpose in life is to point fingers: "Cancer is all a matter of lifestyle. Why bother?" To the conspiracy theorists: "The drug companies don't really want a cure for cancer. Why bother?"

To these people, I say, "Stand Up. And stand up now." We have been finding cures for diseases since the beginning of time. Polio was decades old before the March of Dimes movement, initially broadcast on radio, galvanized a country to find a cure. To those who think cancer is solely a byproduct of unhealthy living, I say healthy people get cancer, too. And to those conspiracy theorists out there, I am reminded of something Stand Up to Cancer's co-founder Laura Ziskin used to say: "The people who work at drug companies get cancer, too. So do their mothers, wives, husbands, sons and daughters. They want it to end, like the rest of us."

So now is our time. This is our movement. Pull up a chair (I recommend bringing a box of Kleenex or two with you), turn on just about any channel on TV Friday night and at some point go to su2c.org and give what you can. Stand Up. So that one day your grandkids or your great-grandkids will ask you, "What is cancer?" And you'll proudly say, "Something of the past. And boy, 'Modern Family' was a helluva show."

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Eric Stonestreet. "Stand Up to Cancer" will be shown on several cable networks owned by CNN's parent company, Time Warner.

September 9, 2012 -- Updated 1453 GMT (2253 HKT) Bob Greene says every four years presidential contenders relentlessly court swing state Ohioans, their fervor intense--until they have made the saleSeptember 9, 2012 -- Updated 1258 GMT (2058 HKT) Neil Harbisson, born colorblind, perceives color through audio and says technology can allow people to extend their sensesSeptember 8, 2012 -- Updated 2112 GMT (0512 HKT) Dean Obeidallah asks: How did we get to where we are today where the white Protestant establishment seems to be losing power? September 9, 2012 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT) Dave Gilbert says limited coverage is a shame because Americans have missed out on the achievements of their athletes and it could potentially hold back the future aspirations of many moreSeptember 7, 2012 -- Updated 2140 GMT (0540 HKT) The Democrats had a good convention. But Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan still have a serious chance to win the presidential race, says David Gergen. September 7, 2012 -- Updated 1800 GMT (0200 HKT) LZ Granderson, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Donna Brazile, Robert Dallek, Alonzo Hamby, Timothy Stanley and others on the final day of the Democratic convention Get the latest opinion and analysis from CNN's columnists and contributors.September 7, 2012 -- Updated 0627 GMT (1427 HKT) John Avlon says President Obama is a great orator, but not always a great communicator, and we saw that again in CharlotteSeptember 7, 2012 -- Updated 1458 GMT (2258 HKT) The former president often ignores the teleprompter and uses improvisation to get his points across in memorable language, says David KusnetSeptember 6, 2012 -- Updated 1607 GMT (0007 HKT) Alan Brinkley, John Avlon, Maria Cardona, Ana Navarro and others provide analysis on Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic conventionSeptember 6, 2012 -- Updated 1858 GMT (0258 HKT) David Rothkopf says now that Clinton dazzled the Democratic convention with his speech, Obama must do at least the same if he is to claim his place as Clinton's Democratic successorSeptember 6, 2012 -- Updated 2147 GMT (0547 HKT) Peter Bergen says Obama has stepped up the drone strike campaign and changed its focus from targeting al Qaeda leaders to Taliban militants. September 5, 2012 -- Updated 1941 GMT (0341 HKT) Tim Stanley says the GOP now avoids its long-standing wedge issue as the Democrats, on the hunt for women's votes, have drawn it resolutely into their wheelhouse September 5, 2012 -- Updated 1713 GMT (0113 HKT) William Bennett asks: Is it any wonder that President Obama's surrogates mentioned few of his achievements on the first night of the DNC?September 5, 2012 -- Updated 1602 GMT (0002 HKT) Jeff Pearlman says no, a runner doesn't forget that his marathon time was four hours, not three. Not unless that runner is a politician with a casual relationship with truth.Today's five most popular stories

Jewelry Store from Amazon here