UPDATE: Florida Hearing On Repeal Of Stand Your Ground Is Nov. 7th

For the first time since neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Florida’s Senate held a hearing on changes to the state’s controversial stand-your-ground law, and new guidelines for deadly force and self-defense by neighborhood watch groups were approved with a vote of 7-2

The Judiciary Committee hearing was held Tuesday on Senate Bills 130 , regarding deadly force, filed by Senator David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs) and SB122, regarding self-defense, filed in August by Senator Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale).

The two bills were combined into one, as SB130, by an amendment passed at the hearing. Simmons was one of the authors of Florida’s original infamous stand-your-ground law. The bill still has to go through three more hoops before it reaches the House: the Criminal Justice, Community Affairs, and Rules Committees.

The combined SB130  requires county sheriff or…