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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Oliver BLASTS Zimmerman verdict
Of the many truly depressing things about this case where a man was found not guilty after admitting pursuing and shooting an unarmed teenager, one is just how unsurprised people seem to be about the verdict.
MIKE BARNICLE (7/15/2013):They had no other option, given the scriptures of the law in Florida.
FOX NEWS ANALYST (7/14/2013): If at any point in that altercation, that Zimmerman felt that his life was in grave bodily harm or imminent danger, he had the right under Florida's law to pull that trigger.
Right, and that is what makes this so much worse, that we can get a verdict like this not because the system is broken down, but because the system worked exactly as it's designed. How does 2013 Florida have a law that seems cut and pasted from 1881 Tombstone?
Because let's be clear here. According to current Florida law, you can get a gun, follow an unarmed minor, call the police, have them explicitly tell you to stop following them, then choose to ignore that, keep following the minor, get into a confrontation with him, and if at any point during that process you get scared, you can shoot the minor to death, and the state of Florida will say, "Well, look, you did what you could."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/16/1224028/-John-Oliver-BLASTS-Zimmerman-verdict
Ian David
(69,059 posts)thereismore
(13,326 posts)a lot "safer".
IdaBriggs
(10,559 posts)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/gun-found-on-disney-ride_n_3355046.html
Loaded Gun Found On Disney World Ride By Woman With Her Grandson
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A Walt Disney World patron on a ride with her grandson found a loaded gun on her seat, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said that the woman found the pistol on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. The woman turned over the loaded weapon to a park attendant, who then contacted her manager and authorities.
The gun's owner, Angelo Lista, told authorities he discovered his gun was missing several minutes after leaving the ride. He has a concealed weapons permit.
Lista told authorities he didn't know Disney World patrons weren't allowed to bring guns. He said he thought the security checkpoint at the entrance to the Florida theme park was only so that guards could check bags for bombs or explosives. Patrons do not walk through metal detectors nor are they subject to patdowns.
Disney World prohibits patrons from bringing weapons of any kind on its property.
mountain grammy
(26,658 posts)and you might have to stand your ground.
valerief
(53,235 posts)They just say they prohibit them, which stops no one from bringing one in.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)You're technically not supposed to bring outside food or beverages into the park, either.
If you have a bag, they make you open all the zippers and compartments.
Oooh... so through! ALL the pockets!
What they don't do is make you open any other bags you have inside the other bags.
I always bring a couple small first aid kits with me that are little, red, zipper pouches. They have never once made me open those pouches, or any other container I have inside my bags.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)Lets just say the sort of people who think they need a gun at Disney World isn't a wide cross-section of society. And depending on how a handgun is concealed it will affect posture and the way clothing hangs from the body. A person carrying a gun will also also check for and reposition the weapon. These are obvious to trained security.
If you are caught with a weapon at Disney World you will be given a trespass warning and banned for life. As these sorts tend to make a scene when their gawd given right to endanger the public is threatened, the sheriff usually gets involved and charges the morons with armed trespass.
valerief
(53,235 posts)Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)I mean, you saw what happened in Jurassic Park to those people in the cars that stalled?
live love laugh
(13,156 posts)other citizen in Fl? Bullshit.
Kablooie
(18,641 posts)Disney tried to stop all guns but the government said they couldn't do that.
At least that's what I remember.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)to the same end. Universal Studios will kick you out too.
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)THink I heard someone said the CNN juror said that yesterday "which was so astute" he said.
RevStPatrick
(2,208 posts)"How does 2013 Florida have a law that seems cut and pasted from 1881 Tombstone?"
The whole point of the Gunfight at the OK Corral was that Tombstone had an ordinance that you could not carry guns, and the "cowboys" were clearly bad guys:
"To reduce crime in Tombstone, on April 19, 1881, the Tombstone's city council passed ordinance #9 prohibiting anyone from carrying a deadly weapon. Anyone entering town was required to deposit their weapons at a livery or saloon soon after entering town. The ordinance led directly to the confrontation that resulted in the shoot out."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shootout_at_the_OK_Corral
Blue Owl
(50,529 posts)Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Shot Trayvon and let him die.
When the jurors set him free,
Georgie Porgie smiled with glee.
Lars39
(26,117 posts)'Cause all Z saw was someone black and he sure didn't see him as an individual person.
9. Georgie Porgie
Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Shot a Trayvon and let him die.
When the jurors set him free,
Georgie Porgie smiled with glee.
uwep
(108 posts)In Texas you can call 911 ignore them load your gun crawl out of a window run after the victim shoot them in the back and get off or you can shoot an escort because she would not give you sex and kill her and get off. How twisted is this. Maybe now we will have gun fights in the streets again. I guess we hunger for the old west.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)lark
(23,166 posts)Anyplace in the deep south can be dangerous to minorities or women. I've never had problems in FL, but have been threatened twice in TX and once in MS while traveling. I no loner will eat at any small town restaurant in the south while traveling, too unsafe.
Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)indepat
(20,899 posts)to kill certain others on a whim as demonstrated in the Sanford, FL verdict.
Kablooie
(18,641 posts)If a black tried to stand his ground I'm sure he'd go to jail.
If this case had a black man as the vigilante and a white kid, he'd be in jail for life by now.
Cha
(297,794 posts)What about the minor who is afraid for his life and Stands his Fucking Ground?!
Justice4Trayvon~