Stevie Wonder is taking a stand in reaction to the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. The R&B legend said on stage at a Quebec City concert, that he will be boycotting Florida and any other state that has the infamous “Stand Your Ground” law.
Millions of people have been outraged over the outcome of the trial, but Stevie is one of the first entertainers to put his money where his mouth is, and forgo ticket sales for justice.
As he said on stage:
“I decided today that until the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again. As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world.”
Stevie also realizes this is just a small step in the quest for justice as he prefaced the statement by saying:
“The truth is that for those of you who’ve lost in the battle for justice, wherever that fits in any part of the world, we can’t bring them back. What we can do is, we can let our voices be heard. And we can vote in our various countries throughout the world for change and equality for everybody. That’s what I know we can do.”
There are approximately 22 states that have a version of the “Stand Your Ground” law. Although each state has different interpretations, Florida’s version is the most restrictive. As reported by huffingtonpost.com:
“At least 22 states have similar ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws with varying degrees of latitude. Some states, for example, require that someone invoking the defense first attempt to flee before using force, while others restrict the defense to situations that arise in one’s home or office. Florida’s law has neither of these restrictions.”
Stevie is the latest from the music community to publicly express opposition to the outcome of the Zimmerman trial and demand justice for Martin. From Beyonce to Young Jeezy, there has been emotional expressions from the music community.
We’re sure they’ll be more to come as the country come to grips with the tragedy.
