NRA's Marion Hammer stands her ground

By Ann O'Neill, CNN

April 15, 2012...Marion Hammer is the first female president of the National Rifle Association.

Ms. Hammer is responsible for pushing through Florida's Stand Your Ground law. Or, Welcome to Florida! Duck!

Some gun control activists consider Hammer an extremist. Whatever their position on guns, Florida lawmakers respect her.

CNN -- Hammer was 5 when she first held a gun in her widdle hands. How pwessious! Her grandfather handed her a .22 bolt-action single-shot rifle and told her to hunt down a rabbit or a squirrel for dinner.

Little Marion practiced first, aiming at the cans lined up on the wooden fence. Then...BAMM! The fur flew, the blood splattered everywhere! Sweet little Marion blew smoke from the end of the barrel, picked up the bloodied rabbit by its ears, walked home  and announced, “dinner!”

Hammer is in her 70s now -- a 4-foot, 11-inch granny gone gray. But she's still “drilling” the tomato, dead center, as an unblinking gun rights advocate. The way she sees it, if the bad guys are armed to the teeth, then the good guys should be able to defend themselves. Yeah!

Since 1978, Hammer has tirelessly pushed her Second Amendment agenda with the Florida Legislature as an NRA board member and executive director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

She has been such an effective lobbyist that the Sunshine State often is referred to as "the Gunshine State."

Hammer isn’t home baking cookies or something.

Editor’s Note:

"She's a legend around here," said Cory Tilley, a Tallahassee political consultant who was former Gov. Jeb Bush's communications chief. "She connects. Agree or disagree with her, she's fighting a fight she truly believes in. Her motives are 100 percent pure." Yeah, pure!

Hmm...Wonder how many Floridians, besides Trayvon and the Skittles Caper, have died since the “Stand Your Ground” law was passed?

Funny you should ask.

Since Florida passed the "stand your ground" law in 2005, deaths due to self-defense have jumped over 250 percent.*

*This according to Christopher L. Smith on March 21st, 2012 in a press release. He is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing the 29th District since 2008.