{"id":7432,"date":"2012-03-21T15:41:24","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T22:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=7432"},"modified":"2012-03-21T15:41:24","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T22:41:24","slug":"trayvon-martin-2nd-amendment-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2012\/03\/21\/trayvon-martin-2nd-amendment-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Trayvon Martin: 2nd Amendment Solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been slow to respond to the killing of Trayvon Martin, because I did not want to rush to judgment, before having sufficient evidence to justify an opinion.  In my opinion, the killing was a murder, it was a racially motivated hate crime, and the police tried to cover it up.  Here is a small part of the evidence on which I based these opinions.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"21Trayvon\"\u2026As the world now knows, the 17-year-old Martin walked to a store in Orlando to buy some snacks on the night of February 26. George Zimmerman, a volunteer Neighborhood Watch captain, thought the boy looked suspicious and called 911. The 911 operator told Zimmerman to keep his distance<\/strong> — police would be sent — but there was a confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin was killed with a single shot to the chest. Florida authorities have not arrested Zimmerman<\/strong>, and federal authorities recently joined the investigation.<\/p>\n

The legal question at the heart of the case involves Florida’s so-called "stand your ground" law, which the legislature passed, at the behest of the National Rifle Association, in 2005. Before that time, Florida law resembled that of most other states; during confrontations, individuals had a duty to retreat rather than to respond to provocations<\/strong>. Under the new law, a person is allowed to use deadly force if he is in a place he has a right to be and feels reasonably threatened with serious harm.<\/p>\n

In this case, then, the question is whether Zimmerman was in such a place and felt reasonably threatened. The 911 operator told Zimmerman to keep his distance from Martin, but Zimmerman had a right to be on the street. That’s where neighborhood watch volunteers work\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <CNN<\/a>><\/p>\n

This account by CNN appears biased towards Zimmerman, as even the Florida law does not justify his acts, because there was no provocation from Martin.  In fact the evidence is clear that the provocation came from Zimmerman only.<\/font><\/p>\n