Singer Harry Belafonte is the latest entertainer to take up against Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground laws, widely believed to be part of the reason George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in a verdict handed down earlier this month in Sanford.
In Florida, Harry Belafonte joined protesters demonstrating against the Stand Your Ground gun laws in the state, laws which many believe create a shoot first, ask questions later legal climate that encourages the use of deadly force when not necessary.
As The Inquisitr reported earlier, protesters known as the Dream Defenders have occupied Florida’s capitol after the controversial Zimmerman verdict, demanding a change to laws that allowed the killer of Trayvon Martin to walk free.
Belafonte joined the Dream Defenders in their occupation Friday, but the star is no stranger to civil rights protests .
The occupation began on July 15, and Belafonte said seeing young people engage civically in Florida “makes my autumn heart dance like it was spring.” He also spoke of calls for Republican Gov. Rick Scott to re-examine gun laws in the wake of Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s acquittal, saying:
“At the moment all of this is governable, all of this is in a place where it can be debated and analyzed and discussed in a very peaceful, calm, productive way.”
Ciara Taylor of the Dream Defenders says that while the group has occupied for weeks, they’re prepared to be in it for the long haul to foment change in Florida in response to Martin’s shooting death. She says:<
“I’m prepared to spend a whole month, a whole season… I’m prepared to be here till next legislative session if that’s necessary.”
Just this hour, the Dream Defenders updated followers on Twitter, saying that the refusal to allow protesters food is not stopping them:
Though they’re not allowing food in we’re still in good spirits. We know why we are here and we’re not going anywhere #hungryforjustice
— The Dream Defenders (@Dreamdefenders) July 27, 2013
Harry Belafonte with some of our youngest @Dreamdefenders and @PowerU305 youth walking into #TakeOverFL pic.twitter.com/d6mL8iiV2H — Alana Greer (@Alana_Greer) July 26, 2013
@harrybelafonte entering #TheTakeover pic.twitter.com/Le30TNFSwk
— The Dream Defenders (@Dreamdefenders) July 26, 2013
The pic in the last tweet above was sent by the Dream Defenders and shows Harry Belafonte arriving to show solidarity for the proposed changes often referred to as “Trayvon’s Law.”
