Jay Z and Kanye West have joined a growing list of celebrities in vowing to boycott the state of Florida over the state's "Stand Your Ground" laws and the recent George Zimmerman acquittal.
R&B legend Stevie Wonder was the first to stage such a protest, a list that has now grown to reportedly include Madonna, Usher, Rihanna and Rod Stewart.
“I decided today that until the “Stand Your Ground” law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again,” Wonder told the media during a recent performance in Quebec City. “As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in the state or in that part of the world. 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.”
Self-appointed neighborhood watchman, Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old teen Trayvon Martin in February 2012 after he ignored authorites' demands to cease following the teen, whom he later told police he thought suspicious because he was wearing a hoodie and walking in the rain.
Though Zimmerman did not actually invoke the law at trial, the basis of it is what’s thought to have paved the way for his exoneration. Florida is not the only state with "Stand Your Ground" laws on its books, at least 23 other states also have such provisions on the books providing varying degrees of legal protection to those who use force in perceived self-defense.
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