Several minutes elapsed between the time Zimmerman lost sight of Martin and their next confrontation. Martin could have ran home in that amout of time. Instead, Martin approached Zimmerman from behind, the two men exchanged a few words, and Martin started punching Zimmerman. If Martin had stopped his assult after knocking Zimmerman to the ground, Martin would still be alive today (maybe).
Why did Martin continued to assult Zimmerman? Did Martin believe that the man lying on the ground with a broken nose was somehow a “threat” to him?
I might play dead if attacked by a bear, and truly couldn’t get away from it. I hear that can fool them.
But no, I probably wouldn’t play dead during a beating. It’s not that I’m against it, it’s just that the odds of me actually being so stupid as to get into a situation where someone is actually on top of me, beating me, are miniscule. I’m not going to put myself in a position where I have no other options. Besides, I have martial arts training for just such situations. Zimmerman had a gun.
If you’re going to run around chasing unarmed teenagers at night, it’s pretty short-sighted that your only way to deal with the possibility of being attacked is a gun.
Several of you seemed to think that Trayvon deserved to die.
Why? I’m honestly curious. I totally get his emotional state. I’ve been furious at someone for scaring me before. I’ve never jumped anyone for it, but I get the anger.
Have you never been angry at someone who scared the heck out of you, right after you realize they are completely off-base for doing whatever it was that scared you?
No more so than a teenager who hits a tree while driving 100 mph. Actions have consequences. There’s a difference between saying a person has a right to defend himself and a kid doing something stupid that gets him killed.
So what was his crime, being chased by a man with a gun? Trayvon didn’t attack an authority figure…he attacked some random person who scared the holy heck out of him.
Sure, Trayvon did something stupid. Zimmerman shot him in the chest, though. No warning shot, didn’t wing him, just shot straight at the center of mass.
That’s not how a responsible gun owner responds, in my opinion.
Florida self-defense laws don’t ask victims to question their attackers history of violence before using lethal force to defend their own lives.
Zimmerman was being attacked by Martin. Martin knocked Zimmerman to the ground and continued to beat him.
In Brown v. United States, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said that “Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife” and “there is no duty to retreat from anywhere that a victim has a right to be”.
Both Zimmerman and Martin had a right to be in the neighborhood and both had a right to ask each other questions about why they were there.
Neither man had a legal right to begin punching the other. Once the fight started and Zimmerman had been knocked to the ground, any “threat” that Martin MIGHT have felt was over. Martin continued to attack Zimmerman.
Zimmerman had no time for any “detached reflection”. His life was in danger. Florida law says that anyone can use lethal force to protect their own life.
Actually, that’s exactly what the training entails. “Winging” someone only happens in western movies. Generally you’re taught to fire groupings of shots.
Just what is the “appropriate type of gunshot” while you’re being beaten? Zimmerman was lying on his back and calling to his neighbors for help while fending off Martin’s attack. How good do you think your aim would be under those conditions?
It was point-blank range. My aim would be near-perfect. Shoot him in the hip or shoulder, for Pete’s sake, if you need a big target. Anywhere but the head or the heart.
Oh, OK. Then all you handgun-owning concealed-carry boys are scary as shit, then.
He was a TEENAGER. He went to the STORE. The next sentence in that storyline is not supposed to go “Then he got shot to death.”
We ALL have a part to play in making sure that kids don’t get killed on the way home from the store. That includes Zimmerman, and he didn’t play his part.
And, given that, I don’t think he needs to be carrying a handgun.
Whatever else you want to say about Zimmerman carrying a gun, you have to admit that Zimmerman + gun=unfortunate combination.
Just what is the “appropriate type of gunshot” while you’re being beaten? Zimmerman was lying on his back and calling to his neighbors for help while fending off Martin’s attack. How good do you think your aim would be under those conditions?
Again, the training involves shooting the center mass. The purpose is to kill your opponent. Wounding invites a fight for control of the gun. Given Martin’s assault that would be the natural outcome of “winging” him - which again is just a movie fantasy.
Wounding a grown man who’s trying to kill you does.
Wounding a teenager who might just be really angry that you just scared the shit out of him? Maybe not.
It’s not hard to pull off a shoulder or hip shot, then immediately re-point to center of mass. At that point, your opponent has a choice–attack, or back off. If he attacks again, he means to kill you. Just pull the trigger, the gun is already pointed. If he backs off, call 911, get him an ambulance, and perhaps even apply first aid, if it seems safe.
I believe you’ve watched too many movies. This was a real-life, life-or-death struggle. It wasn’t a choreographed scene in some movie. There was a struggle, Zimmerman’s brother said there had been a struggle for the weapon, and a fatal shot was fired.
The semiautomatic KelTec ejected the spent case but didn’t chamber another round. What prevented the weapond from automatically chambering another round? Too many hands on the pistol? Improper grip on the pistol when it was fired?