"Trayvon Martin" Law

July 27, 2013

I have so far chosen to not post any original content about Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman but it's gotten too difficult as the country has gone crazy and it's painfully obvious that most of the people talking either have no idea what they're talking about or are ignoring facts as they push their own messages and agenda.

Tracy Martin, the father of deceased teenager Trayvon Martin, would like there to be a law enacted in Congress bearing Trayvon's name. Specifically, he'd like the federal legislation to roll back "stand your ground" laws. How sentimental. How completely ludicrous.

I have a suggested name for the bill. How about "Don't Commit Felony Assault On Anyone Because They Just Might Have a Gun and You Might End Up Justifiably Dead".

Even immediately after typing that I already have a problem with it. It's redundant and I'm not a fan of redundancy. Like other proposed gun control laws, the redundancy is that there are already laws on the books that cover the topic. It's called "assault" and it's a felony and Trayvon Martin committed it! He did that along with illegal drug possession, illegal drug use, possession of stolen property and likely robbery considering that he had a whole collection of stolen items in his school locker. Granted, none of those lesser charges contributed directly to Trayvon's death that night. But felony assault did!

There's also a little problem with the fact that "stand your ground" was NOT an issue in the George Zimmerman trial. Yes, yes, yes, the jury heard and used the phrase "stand your ground" during its deliberations. But there's a different between the casual use of a phrase and the implementation of law under that category. That law was NOT pursued by the defense and the case was made, to a verdict of "not guilty," under standard "self defense" law. So wanting Trayvon's death to roll back "stand your ground" laws is like wanting his death to stand for lowering speed limits or any other thing that was NOT related to his death or the trial.

I don't know the story of how Trayvon saved his father's life. It's mentioned in this article and elsewhere. But I don't need to. A single act of goodness does not make someone a good person and a bad person is capable of good or kind acts. I don't know who Trayvon was in whole. Neither do 310 million other Americans. You're certainly not getting the complete picture from the same mainstream media and outspoken lobbyists and group advocates that've been twisting this whole incident into things its not. Good or bad, Trayvon took George Zimmerman's life into his hands when he decided to commit felony assault on him by physically assaulting him, jumping on top of him, and pounding him into the ground. Consequently, he also took his own life into his hands - at the hands of his victim.

"I vow to do everything in my power to not give up the fight for him." Where was that fight and commitment, dad, when it counted - when it could have prevented or influenced him from becoming a criminal and "gangsta" (in Trayvon's own words, I believe)?

"He said his son should serve as an inspiration for others." Yep, the inspiration should be to NOT live the way Trayvon did and do the things he did.

"...his legacy is that Trayvon helped bridge the gap of America" Not going to happen. The country is deeply divided, not bridged, over this incident because of the relentless exploitation and misinformation being spread by the most vocal. Now that includes Trayvon's parents.

Even though Trayvon did commit criminal acts, his death is a tragedy. I think there were errors in judgment on both sides - Martin's and Zimmerman's. But there's nothing wrong with the laws that applied in the case. "Stand your ground" is legitimate on its own, was NOT used in the Zimmerman trial, and benefits more black people in Florida than 'whites' (which Zimmerman is not). Everyone has a right to self defense, whether it's under a heading of "stand your ground", "castle doctrine" or something else. Trayvon could have gone home that night. All he had to do was - GO HOME! He decided to commit felony assault instead. He killed himself.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/trayvon-martin-father-tracy-speaks-capitol-hill-94692.html

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http://us2ndamendment.blogspot.com/2013/07/trayvon-martin-law.html
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