Gov. Rick Scott (Pic via flgov.com)
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday morning, Gov. Rick Scott spoke about the importance of building up businesses in Florida, specifically in the wake of the BP oil spill, and also fielded questions about the controversial Trayvon Martin case.
“Come for the beaches and stay for the business,” Scott said, adding that the 2012 presidential election is “all going to be about jobs.”
“I won my race because I had seven steps to 700,000 jobs: lower taxes, less regulation, easier permitting, less litigation — all of those things make Florida businesses more competitive so that we’ll have more jobs,” Scott said. “It’s all about building jobs. ”
The conversation eventually turned to the highly controversial case of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot to death in Sanford, Fla., by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, despite the fact that he was unarmed. Florida law enforcement officials have borne the brunt of the scrutiny, for their failure to arrest accused shooter George Zimmerman, who claims he shot Martin in self-defense.
“There’s not enough information. No one has enough information,” Scott said when asked about the case.
Scott expressed confidence in State Attorney Angela Corey, who was picked to lead the investigation, saying she is “aggressive” and “anxious” to start the investigation, but also cautioned viewers against rushing to conclusions. “We do have to wait. We’ve got to get the information out before people make decisions about things,” he said. “And we’ve got to have due process for the individual that people are suggesting — that is George Zimmerman — did something wrong.”
One of the likely barriers to prosecuting Zimmerman for the shooting is Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows for the use of deadly force in cases of self-defense.
Scott said his team would review that law.
“We’ll review that law and any other laws that impact public safety. Because in our state, I’m sure like every other state, you want people to feel comfortable,” he said. “We’re at a 40-year low in our crime rate. You want people to feel comfortable walking in their neighborhoods, go out and shop, do business. So you don’t want anything like this to happen.”
