Stevie Wonder pledges to stop performing states with stand-your-ground laws

During a concert appearance at the Festival d'été de Québec in Quebec City on July 14, Stevie Wonder promised he would no longer perform in Florida or any state that has a stand-your-ground law.

In the clip above, Wonder states:

“The truth is that for those that we have 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, and we can vote in our various countries throughout the world for change and equality for everybody. That’s what I know we can do. And I know I’m not everybody, I’m just one person, I’m a human being. But for the gift that God has given me, and for whatever I mean, I decided today that until the stand-your-ground law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again. As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world.”

His declaration comes after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012.

In the United States, stand-your-ground legislation allows an individual to use justifiable force against other people in self-defence.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 22 states have laws in place stating an individual does not need to retreat from an attacker.

In nine states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina—the law specifically states that a person may "stand his or her ground" against another person.