Pressure has been mounting for a full investigation of the death of Trayvon Martin, the young boy who was shot by a Florida neighborhood watch member, now claiming self defense. Too much of the pressure is based on race, and that’s unfortunate because the implications of this case go well beyond race. They touch on some of the most fundamental aspects of the Second Amendment and the rights of individuals to self defense. The case also has the potential to undermine some of the most basic arguments that those of us on the gun rights side make in defense of increased freedom from firearm overegulation.
But most important of all is the recognition that what happened in Florida was a tragedy and we all deserve to know the truth. Right now, there are lots of different stories, many different perspectives and philosophies about what happened, and – of course – the racial aspect.
That’s why it’s so important that this case end up in front of a jury.
We need to know exactly what happened. We need to get both sides of the story, and the best way to do that isn’t to do it in the media. It’s to do it in a courtroom. Charging George Zimmerman ensures that an impartial jury of his peers decides what the facts actually were. It is a sad fact of life that too many people in America have little faith in the jury system – a system that was designed and expected to serve as a check and balance to government power by placing control over the fate of individuals charged with crimes in the hands of the community. The belief – one that I still hold today – is that generally, people do the right thing in situations like this. At the very least, we need a jury to act in its traditional role as fact finder because the facts here seem conflicting. Zimmerman is saying one thing, Martin’s friends and family another.
I don’t know whether the facts exonerate or condemn him. Regardless, we owe it to both Zimmerman and the family of Martin, as well as to the people in that community as a whole, to determine exactly what happened and ensure justice is done. Zimmerman won’t be able to live his life with this controversy hanging over his head, and the longer it drags on, the harder it will be on every
On a side note, as a gun rights advocate, I’m concerned that this case has the potential to undermine many of the arguments we on the gun rights side have made for a long time regarding self-defense and the use of firearms by average citizens. We often argue that the best way to ensure a safe citizenry is by ensuring private individuals have the right to defend themselves and their communities when police can’t get there immediately. That’s a tried and true philosophy and thousands of men and women are alive today because of it.
The counterargument we’re always faced with is the specter of an armed vigilante out roaming the streets, looking for someone to shoot. Democrats and the anti-gun crowd are quick to paint most gun owners as being just one insult away from turning into The Punisher and gunning down whoever gets in their way. That’s ridiculous, but now they’ve got a poster child for their efforts. And it’s a safe bet they’ll use it
It’s amazing to me how quickly the anti-gun crowd grabs on to any kind of case with national publicity to push their agenda, regardless of how removed from the facts of the specific case. I still galls me how the anti-gun lobby latched on to Virginia Tech to push the “gunshow loophole” agenda despite that tragedy having nothing to do with gunshows. And it’s only a matter of time before everything from concealed carry to the “gunshow loophole” end up being litigated before the court of public opinion using the Martin tragedy as a catalyst. The only real way to shut down those arguments is to know exactly what happened.
If Zimmerman truly did nothing wrong, as he claims, he will be exonerated. And if he didn’t, we can uphold the rule of law, punish a murderer and bring justice to Martin’s family. At the same time, we can make clear that – as is usually the case – it wasn’t the rights of law abiding citizens that made this tragedy happen. It was the decision of one man acting alone.
Travyon Martin deserves his day in court. The people of Florida should give it to him.
