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Don't Chase People With A Gun
Apr. 26th, 2012 03:04 pmI feel like I've spent a lot of time on this blog talking about things one shouldn't do with a gun. Thus, I wasn't sure I wanted to do that again, but, well, I've decided that this is my forum to talk about whatever I want to.
So, this site has a timeline and a map of the Martin - Zimmerman shooting. The site points out that there are two and a half "missing minutes" in which we have no clear idea what happened between Zimmerman and Martin. It then goes on to posit two confrontations between the pair - one at Zimmerman's truck and the fatal one in the grass. The bottom line to me, though, is clear - Zimmerman did not go directly back to his truck (or if he did, he got out of it) and Martin did not go directly home.
If the shooter in a gun fight is telling one lie, then it's reasonable to question what else is a lie. It's also worth noting that, based on Zimmerman's apology, he assumed Martin was armed. If you have a gun, and you're chasing after somebody you think has a gun, where is your gun hand?
Don't get me wrong - Martin could still have attacked Zimmerman. More likely is that Martin pushed Zimmerman back, which could explain (the as-yet unproven) cut to Zimmerman's head. But a push is not cause for lethal force, and there are a lot of ways for things to go wrong. Most of those ways end up with Zimmerman guilty of manslaughter.
Don't go chasing after people with a gun.
So, this site has a timeline and a map of the Martin - Zimmerman shooting. The site points out that there are two and a half "missing minutes" in which we have no clear idea what happened between Zimmerman and Martin. It then goes on to posit two confrontations between the pair - one at Zimmerman's truck and the fatal one in the grass. The bottom line to me, though, is clear - Zimmerman did not go directly back to his truck (or if he did, he got out of it) and Martin did not go directly home.
If the shooter in a gun fight is telling one lie, then it's reasonable to question what else is a lie. It's also worth noting that, based on Zimmerman's apology, he assumed Martin was armed. If you have a gun, and you're chasing after somebody you think has a gun, where is your gun hand?
Don't get me wrong - Martin could still have attacked Zimmerman. More likely is that Martin pushed Zimmerman back, which could explain (the as-yet unproven) cut to Zimmerman's head. But a push is not cause for lethal force, and there are a lot of ways for things to go wrong. Most of those ways end up with Zimmerman guilty of manslaughter.
Don't go chasing after people with a gun.
