I think the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case was probably correct.  Why?  It is obvious to most that Zimmerman was responsible from the time he started following the kid, through the time he got out of his vehicle, to killing him.  The jury had no choice but to follow the misguided, wrong-thinking law.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law basically says you don’t need to defuse a situation, just pull out your gun and start shooting.  This old Wild West law was pushed through by the right-wingers who were influenced by the gun lobby and racial fears. (Oddly the racial aspect is brown, not black in Florida.) Florida isn’t the only state with this type of law and they should all be repealed.

Here is why they are wrong.  Put yourself into this scenario.  You are driving down a street and some idiot turns out of a parallel parking spot without looking and you hit him.  You get out complaining about their stupidity and are killed by the other driver.  Why?  The other person saw you as a threat.  Extreme? No.

As long as any fool wants to get the feeling of being John Wayne or Clint Eastwood with a gun, these events will happen.

Estimates are that a quarter to a third of the cost of every handgun legally sold by a retailer is for lobbying and advertising.  Any idea where much of the payoffs goes?  It goes to pay for those votes that caused the Concealed Carry and Stand Your Ground laws to be passed.

Money buys lobbyists who buy public opinion and votes.  As long as it is allowed to be so and we elect people who are so easily swayed, we will not be in control.  We are perceived by them to be lemmings.  Thanks to the gun lobby and the right-wingers we are scared lemmings.