TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Senate has passed a bill that would expand the state's "stand your ground" law to place more burden on prosecutors to prove self-defense wasn't a factor when charging someone with assaulting or killing another person.
The Senate voted 24-12 for the bill on Thursday. If the bill becomes law, the state would have to prove at a pretrial hearing that a defendant invoking stand your ground wasn't acting in self-defense. Right now the burden of proof is on the defendant.
The Senate also unanimously passed two gun bills. One would outlaw firing a gun in densely populated areas. The other would give judges flexibility in sentencing people for aggravated assault while possessing a gun rather than being forced to issue at least a 10-year sentence.
