There I said it.

And I mean it.

Don

Why haven't they arrested this Zimmerman guy? That's what I want to know.

...places the burden on the victim to show that they did not pose a threat to the shooter's physical position, there is no real duty to retreat.

I'm reading where more people have shown that Zimmerman was the agressor, not Martin.

...he say's it's self-defense, and that's just about all there is to it. We live in a very corrupt and violent culture. If you want to be coached on how to maintain your cool to exploit this legal loophole, there are lessons in the Gungeon, also how to deal with potential street robberies, shoot "the enemy" as soon as he reaches for anything, be it Skittles or a can of idea tea.

I mean I know you're just sharing details - I mean this as a general concept.

I'm glad the Justice department is getting involved. If Zimmerman gets away with this it means that we can just have human hunting anytime we want as long as we claim 'self-defense'.

...for quite a long time in this country - what the police choose to do and what the law as defined by politicians allows them to do is open to matters of opinion. All Zimmerman had to do was say it was self-defense...

...is substantially reduced according to numerous lawyers and legal experts.

Text of the law: From the Florida Legislature

That is not a narrow interpretation, its black letter law.

Kassab is far from a balanced source on this.

...without the SYG law Zimmerman would be in handcuffs on suspicion of murder.

The issue in a shooting outside of the home is reasonable fear of great bodily injury/death from the other party. If he could not establish that, he should be in jail. I have a hard time seeing how he could.

Again, SYG has nothing to do with it.

...there is nothing wrong with Florida's self-defense laws and law enforcement. All those lawyers and analysts don't know what they're talking about. The NRA line is always correct

Anyone with Occupy experience knows that.

It's all a big conspiracy to make you the victim of rabid criminals and take away your 2A rights. Nothing to see here folks, just another DGU, he stood his ground

None of the rest of us are...

If one reads for comprehension it is clear that the standard for the use of deadly force did not change in FL with the passage of SYG. Therefore those who are screaming otherwise are either illiterate or pushing an agenda. Given who they are, the latter seems the most probable.

As a firearms instructor and a black man who carries a gun the vast majority of the time, I cannot see how the shooting was legitimate. When everything comes out into the open, I really want to know why the local cops said they had no basis to charge him. In the meantime, the next step is to see what the Grand Jury says.

But I'm also not denying that both the Sanford Police Department and Zimmerman are hiding behind the Stand-Your-Ground argument. I read just fine and my agenda is truthiness.

Which is why it is astounding to just about all of us about why he was not.

21st century.

of the 21st century. The ONLY good thing at all that might come of this horrendous tragedy is the only good that came out of the Emmett Till murder, which was a national soul-searching and recognition of certain things that had to change. What has always interested me about that is that there were countless Emmett Tills before his murder, yet they didn't pierce the national consciousness, whites barely batted an eye, and that is if they even knew about it at all. But social and cultural circumstances intersected to suddenly open the curtain of what had been going on all along and sparked the national impetus to truly change things and lit a fire under the civil rights movement. Congress of Racial Equality and the NAACP had been trying for decades to do that with other such cases, but the social and cultural conditions, unfortunately, just weren't right.

The same with this case. There are other Trayvon Martins and every nonwhite person, especially black, is subject to become one at any time, but this particular case has hit a nerve and may very well spark a national soul-searching and consciousness. Too many people think that because we now have a black president that racism isn't alive and well anymore and that we're in a "post-racial" world. That's a bunch of yurunda (I'm a white gal who lives on an Indian reservation, I see and hear such racism first-hand all the freaking time) and people need to be made aware of that. In fact, I think racism's gotten even worse and racists even bolder since Obama's election.

on a day when I am out working in a small town in NC filled with Confederate flags and anti-Obama (racist) bumper stickers... I am so sad today

Zimmerman walks free after murdering a child FOR NO REASON. Sanford P.D. does absolutely nothing, doesn't even pretend to be seeking justice.

I wonder how often they've swept murder under the rug in that particular precinct?

what their policy is. They are to watch and report..not to carry guns.
Added:
Also from what I understand, Zimmerman was not an official member.

(a group of one) on their rolls. His neighbors have said he is a little overboard with "community control". He was told by the dispatcher when he called in the suspicious person report to stop following the suspicious person.

Plain and simple, he's a racist murderer. As I've said before on this, it sickens me that it took public pressure to get the state to do anything about it.

you would discover multiple (unsuccessful) attempts at employment with the police department. This guy is a classic cop wannabe - fat shlub who got laughed at by girls in high school, wants the authority of a badge, uniform (and firearm) to gain the respect he never got before.

to report 'activity' and it was always an African American.

Why that racist peice of shit is NOT behind bars...is anyones guess.

NOBODY gets treated with immunity like Mr. Zimmerman! Nobody!!! Police simply DO NOT allow citizens to murder each other. So the STINK level on this particular case is at a HIGH HEAVEN mark imo.

My ex was a drug dealer with no ties to local law enforcement, but when he got violent with me years after we divorced (we shared a child), they took the side of the man just because he was a man.

in 2005. That case was later dropped. How often do you here of someone
charged with assaulting an officer and the charges being dropped?

"Zimmerman called 911 dozens of times in the months that led to the fatal shooting, The Orlando Sentinel reported Monday evening. The Seminole County Sheriff's Office released six calls he had made, four of which called police to report "suspicious" persons -- all of whom were black -- in or near the Retreat at Twin Lakes enclave, the paper said."

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/20/10774247-trayvon-martins-final-phone-call-he-said-this-man-was-watching-him

and even overruled what 911 told him--not to chase the kid. The guy is a murderer in my opinion.

This is why I will always support background checks.

...to my knowledge as he was not convicted in his prior assault on a police officer case.

...yet.

for "protection". You don't need a permit for that. Ok, Florida gun lovers, am I right on this? There are some restrictions (schools, government agencies, etc.) but generally in his "community" he could have had a gun in his car.

I remember my husband saying he would buy me a gun to keep in my car for my "protection". I told him that since I worked in a public school, that would be illegal, and moot.

This fool NEVER should have had a weapon......but he did.

No more, and certainly no less.

NOT!

It stays on 0, even thought I rec'd it.

This is fucked up.

as long as it is SOLELY for personal protection in the same way they would feel a need to carry it when they aren't out patroling but on their personal time and as long as the law for the area allows concealed carry and they have the appropriate credentials should they apply. A lot of people wouldn't risk volunteering for their local town watch particularly in bad neighborhoods otherwise... in bad neighborhoods where town watch programs are most effective the volunteers are even willingly painting a target on their back.

From what I'm reading about this case though is that Zimmerman was not a part of the official neighborhood town watch program and was basically a wanna-be cop that bestowed upon himself the title of town watch captain of which he was a one man show. The people that volunteer for the official neighborhood town watch program for their area actually receive instruction and local police work with them. I know in our neighborhood they do background checks on the volunteers to weed out just the sort of problem types Zimmerman was or criminals purposely volunteering solely to attempt to keep the real volunteers away from criminal activity they want to go on.

They think the streets are more dangerous than ever, when just the opposite is true.

...cough...

The whole thing stinks, from Zimmerman to the police department to the state attorney. It's puke worthy.

that should negate the s.y.g. law brought to you by the sadists of the bush crime syndicate. you could hear the kid screaming for help for nearly a minute before he was shot. god i just want to scream

A 911 operator is not a police officer and cannot issue orders. However, it may not sit well with a jury.

SYG does nothing to change the standard for the use of deadly force.

people with authority

I personally am not a gun person but I can tell you that us trying to change things will be hard as I live in a rural area and even the dems are strong gun people here…that is what the non gun people are up against.

I understand around here, we actually do have bears! But why they can't make laws to have them illegal in the cities is beyond me….(people in the city would probably say all their fellow citizens are bears!)

IMO this has less to do with that and more to do with a self appointed wannabe cop who was probably paranoid and racist to boot. He called the police 46 times in the months preceding the incident. That's disturbing.

...if precedent holds any weight.

Precedent was set in a 'neighborhood watch' case gone horribly awry in Utah a couple of years ago. The judge called the self defense argument ”pure crap” and sentenced the shooter to prison.

[link]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700062293/Judge-chastises-Bluffdale-man-for-lack-of-remorse.html

Let's hope this case is referenced when considering Zimmerman's ludicrous self defense claim.

TYY

We shouldn't have to get the US Justice department involved in cases like this. It should have been investigated much better by the local police, who should also be investigated.

why there is a "neighborhood watch" in a "gated community" - gated means - has a gate with a sentury or ring-in system doesn't it? So if one is in the gated community - doesn't that mean that the person was checked in by the sentry or security system and has reason to be there?

He sounds to me like a man with an unhealthy fear of everything and play acting at being tough or a cop.

The guy was even told by the dispatcher to stay back and let the cops handle matters, but he went after the kid anyway. The scream of the young man as he was shot dead are truly gut-wrenching to hear. I think this was a hate-crime and it should be treated as one.

Democracy Now has much info now:

Walking While Black: Florida Police Resist Calls to Arrest Shooter of Unarmed Teen, Trayvon Martin

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/20/walking_while_black_florida_police_resist