Gun opponents to campaign against new Florida ‘shoot first’ law News
Gun opponents to campaign against new Florida ‘shoot first’ law

[JURIST] Gun control advocates are set to start an intensive media campaign to alert travelers about a new Florida law that allows people to respond to threats by using guns at home or in public [JURIST report; SB 436 text]. The NRA-supported "force with force" or (to opponents) "shoot first" law formally takes effect Saturday. Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence [advocacy website] says the new law poses a risk for tourists coming into Florida because they are unaware that this new law exists, hypothesizing that a simple road rage dispute could end up in the death of a tourist. Michigan gun-control advocates have been campaigning to prevent a similar "force with force" bill [JURIST report] being passed in their state. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org