Initially it may seem counter-intuitive, but expect folks in favor of robust self-defense laws to hope, and make their arguments well known, that Zimmerman ultimately fails in his reliance on Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law.
As a rhetorical/PR matter, it goes like this: from the little information thus far available, the common wisdom has quickly formed that the tragic death of Trayvon Martin was not the result of Mr. Martin’s aggression and Zimmerman’s defense. The public has also quickly registered that Zimmerman has not yet been charged because he claimed self defense in one of many states with statutes allowing fairly quick-decision uses of force.
Martin’s death illustrates the horrible consequences that arguably result from those statutes; thus, proponents of those statutes will be working overtime to dissociate this case from those laws.
