Stand Your Ground

The president of the United States, the head of the NAACP, and various other democrats are saying we need to remove all stand your ground laws. They tell us to prevent there being more Trayvons we must stop profiling. The left believes we shouldn't have guns with which to protect ourselves.

Let's look at how the events in Florida might have played out if Trayvon had done what Obama and others want. Trayvon would have saw Zimmerman watching and following him. In this case I would have run. If I was really in fear I would have called 911. If Trayvon had fled this would have only been an obscure 911 call. Humans, when faced with an unknown situation, their instincts will take over, which are fight or flight.

In the America Obama envisions no one would have guns, or if they did there would rarely be a legal use. We know that crime is rampant in this country. We know that most of the crimes are done by repeat offenders. We know that criminals are often simply given a slap on the wrist. We know that police response times average about 9 minutes. I dare say that is a very low number. If you live in a rural area you know it can take far longer for an officer to respond to an emergency, especially at night when many police departments operate with reduced personnel.

Let's present this scenario. A woman lives alone ten miles out of town. She is awakened by someone breaking through a patio door. It's dark, her phone is across the room in the charger. She will have 20 seconds to make a decision. Does she go for the phone and call 911, knowing the police are at least 10 minutes or much more away. Or she has a gun under her bed. She grabs it and points it toward the bedroom door. He enters the bedroom and she fires.

In today's world there are several outcomes. The first is he is wounded and retreats. He is permanently disabled from the shooting. He sues her for millions. There are several cases where the intruder was awarded large sums of money in similar cases.

The second is she hesitates, the intruder spots the gun and runs. He gets way, but three nights later the same thing happens again at another residence, this time the woman isn't armed. She is brutally raped and nearly dies. This is a scenario that is repeated often all over the country.

The third, she fires and kills the intruder. There is plenty of evidence to back up her story. In some parts of the country she would be charged with manslaughter, or she might be charged with the illegal possession, or use, of a firearm. In too many places the potential rapist becomes the victim because by some law he wouldn't have been a rapist until he actually raped her.

As long as a criminal knows there are likely to be no consequences for their actions, they are emboldened. If that criminal knows there is a gun in the house they are less likely to commit a crime. The Aurora theater shooter traveled much farther from his home than necessary because he was looking for one that banned concealed weapons.

Let's move on to profiling. Let's start by saying there is profiling for many different reasons. Yes, blacks are often profiled because of many reasons. Just turn on the television, no matter if its the news or movies, you see blacks as the perpetrator of crime. Statistics seem to support that blacks commit more crime disproportionately to their population.

Bikers are often profiled by the way they dress and their mode of transportation. The reason for this is bikers have in the past had a reputation for being violent criminals, even if that's not true of today's bikers. Even though the large percentage of bikers are career oriented individuals, they still can evoke nervousness in a populous that knows only the tales of violent biker gangs.

Have I ever saw someone approaching in a mall parking lot and hurriedly locked my doors? You bet I have and I dare say most women have at some time. Did this occur more often with blacks approaching? I have no idea. As a human we have “vibes.” This is some instinct of self preservation. We don't always know what triggers that response. I do know that I have never feared someone simply because of the color of their skin. I live in an area where approximately 40% of the population is black. I would live in constant fear if skin color triggered the fear factor, no... there is much more.

One thing is for sure, if that person tries to enter my car or house they automatically become the enemy. If that person comes on my property uninvited and doesn't immediately try to make contact with me or someone in my family, they become the enemy. They are to be perceived as a threat.

Trayvon entered private property when he cut between houses. He should have been looked on with a wary eye. He should have been watched because that's what one does when in “neighborhood watch.” The moment Trayvon chose to give up his right to flee and turned to face Zimmerman, he became the aggressor. The moment he hit Zimmerman, he became the criminal. From that point on I say that Zimmerman had the right to use his weapon.

We often hear asked what if Trayvon had been white and Zimmerman was black. Trayvon would still be dead. You can make Zimmerman female and the results would be the same. The aggressor would be shot.

The simple rule of thumb is violence begets violence. Legs before fist is always the best option. If Trayvon had followed those simple rules he would still be alive. The politicians have made this a gun issue. Their goal is to create an unarmed populous in the misguided belief that will end murder and other crimes. In their efforts to remove guns they are as well dividing the races. If they had labeled Zimmerman correctly as being Hispanic, that would have made this case useless for their purposes. We must all stop participating in their games and look at things honestly. Thankfully those 6 jurors looked at only the facts.