Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on Sunday that while he does not question the decision of the jury in the Trayvon Martin case, he does think all states, including his own, should review their "stand your ground" laws.
"No one I know of has said this case is flawed or corrupt, or that there's anything wrong with the system of justice," McCain told Candy Crowley on CNN's Face the Nation. "I can also see that the stand your ground law may be something that needs to be reviewed by the Florida Legislature or any other Legislature. But to somehow condemn the verdict, you would have show me where the jury was corrupted."
Around 30 states have some form of a "stand your ground" law, which state that a person has a right to use lethal force to defend himself if he feels that his life is in danger. The fairness of the law was called into question after George Zimmerman, who in 2012 shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin then said it was self defense, was acquitted of second-degree murder earlier this month.
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| Senator John McCain |
McCain said he "trust[s] the judgment" of the jury that acquitted Zimmerman, but the "stand your ground" law may have to be reconsidered.
"I am confident that the members of the Arizona Legislature will, because it's very controversial legislation," he said.
McCain also praised President Barack Obama's speech about Trayvon Martin and the racial profiling that black men regularly face. While many have called Obama's speech "divisive" for emphasizing issues of race, McCain thought the remarks were appropriate.
"Events like this highlight and emphasize that we have a long way to go," McCain said. "The president very appropriately highlighted a lot of that yesterday, as only the president can."
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