5 Shocking Things About the Trayvon Martin Case
By Mark “Six” James CPO, EPS
There has been a lot of discussion about multiple topics surrounding the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case. In my humble opinion most of it is off base and people have attempted to connect issues which I feel are unrelated and only choose to cloud the issue.
Whenever you talk 2nd Amendment people start to draw a line in the sand. If you bring race into the topic one side or the other stops listening. If a white man kills a black teen emotions are high. If a black man kills a white teen emotions are high. Kids dying get all of us supercharged.
Let me try and disconnect some of the connections which have been made so far. In my mind, HERE ARE 5 THINGS this case is not about:
• 2nd Amendment – this is not about the right to Keep and Bear Arms. I wish people would please stop trying to make it be.
• Race – as I said above kids dying gets everyone upset, regardless of nationality, gender or socioeconomic status.
• Self-Defense and Deadly force are related but not the same. You can use force to defend yourself but all self-defense actions don’t grant you the ability to use deadly force.
• Castle Doctrine – a person has no duty to retreat when their home is attacked. Neither party was attempting to protect their dwelling.
• Stand your Ground – a person may use deadly force without the obligation to retreat. I don’t think anyone should have to retreat to protect themselves from severe bodily harm or death. History has shown the sequence of events often move faster than the law abiding citizens could retreat to a safe place.
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