Trayvon Martin...not the innocent young lad we've been led to believe?

[ESD]

I know I'm gonna piss some people off, but it is what it is. This whole thing could have been avoided. If this kid wouldn't have been suspended from school, he would have been at school. WHERE HE BELONGED! If one of my kids got suspended from school, they certainly wouldn't be walking to the store! They would have been home, where they are being punished for their foolishness at school. NOT RUNNING THE STREETS!

While I'm sorry for his loss of life, and for the heartache his family is suffering as a result. I'm sure that if he had been in school where he was suppose to be, none of this would have happened. With that being said. I'm not jumping on the Zimmerman bandwagon either. He broke the rules of engagement where the "Stand Your Ground" laws allow. Sounds like he took a gun to a fist fight, and got his ass whooped? Then his emotions kicked in, and he chased this kid down the street and "murdered" him. It may have started at his property, but his threat of severe bodily injury, or death, left when the kid ran away. That's the way I'm understanding it?

I don't care what the drive-by media, or all the gatherings of black people throughout the nation say. Showing pictures of Martin in the media as a 12-13 year old, is outrageous! Older pictures of him, 16 years old I think?.... show him to be obviously older than the other pics. And he's not a little kid. He's man size, and thug-like in the photo I saw of him on the television. Just another example of how the media can drive public opinion negatively against law-abiding armed citizens, and the lawful act of "Stand Your Ground."

Zimmerman screwed the pooch on this one, and as a result, the rest of us law-abiding armed citizens are paying for it with the negative fallout nationwide. It's definately a setback because the liberal, antigun media doesn't want to tell us the whole story.

I don't feel the shooting was justified. He got beat up, and went after this kid because of it. The police were sloppy, and charges should have been filed from the start. Now look at the monster that being created? The Stand Your Ground Law is as it should be. "

A stand-your-ground law states that a person may use force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of a threat, without an obligation to retreat first. In some cases, a person may use deadly force in public areas without a duty to retreat. Under these legal concepts, a person is justified in using deadly force in certain situations and the "stand your ground" law would be a defense or immunity to criminal charges and civil suit.

The law didn't fail Zimmerman, he failed to act at the scene when he was being attacked. When he fled the scene to pursue his attacker, he became a murderer, as far as I'm concerned. We'll have to wait to see if his defense lawyer can pull a rabbit out of his hat on this one?

[Bighouse Doc]

I think that when all the evidence is out, it will show he fired to prevent being beaten to death.

He was walking back to his vehicle when the kid attacked him!

I am willing to bet that he was on his back, with the kid on top when he fired.

I thought I saw a photo of the kid flashing "C's" (Crip signs) to the camera.

-Doc

[wjh2657]

If he had followed the Neighborhood Watch SOP, Zimmerman would never had been in trouble. Too many people believe that when they strap on a gun, they no longer have to follow the law. The Second Amendment made them immune from the law, they are the law! I EDC with a TN HCP and I am now many more times aware of the responsibility of not creating a situation that can escalate into the use of my weapon. Somebody else is going to have to intitiate action and the weapon is going to be a last resort when I no longer can extricate myself from the problem without bodily injury or death to myself. Being armed does not mean I get to play GOD, it means I am the one that must use his head! Being armed is not a video game, it means I hold the power of life and death in my hands. I fully expect that I will have to answer for my actions if anybody can show that I did not have to use that power.The gun and holster are secondary to the primary weapon system, the guidance system, the brain. I don't care what Martin was or had done in the past. He was unarmed and moving away (at least initially) and was no threat in the beginning. This was not self defense. I am a retired Marine (thirty years AD), a former LEO and a gun carrier for several decades, but Mr. Zimmerman can be greatful that I will not be on his jury. I do not countenance stupidity or arrogance when carrying a gun.

[eagleeyes]

according to his tweets facebook and his myspace he was a thug wanna be and already proven himself racist thuglike and violent and pot dealer and possibly a thief already but the media portrayed him as a 12 year old angel oh puke his recent pics don't look anything innocent to me wtf is a 17 year old sporting tats and gold teeth ? what kind of parents allow that crap at his age? geesh

[Harepower]

Blah - let the court proceedings get it all out there - Amazing we still got stone cold opinions w/o all the facts ;)

[eagleeyes]

wonder if they will televise it like they did the oj simpson case just to keep stirring up racial tensions?

[Jason1221]

Zimmerman defended his self while being attacked. He shot Martin while Martin was smashing his head on the sidewalk. Martin used concrete as a weapon. GZ did what was expected of the neighborhood. The last time he called the police on a burglar the police took to long to get there and the burglar got away. So this time he was trying to watch were he went. He didn't confront TM. TM spotted him following him then when GZ was goin back to his car he was attacked. And that's when he defended himself as most ppl would do. He didn't intend on shooting TM or his head would have never gotten smashed. That's we're all the self defense laws make this justifiable. He legally carried a weapon. He didn't get his ass whooped then go get a gun. Your way off key with that 1. Simple fact these thugs seen a subdivision that was a easy target and repeatedly broke into homes over and over again.

[CharonPDX]

Really? All of a sudden we're positive about that? We're positive that Martin was a gang banger who attacked Zimmerman? I thought we weren't sure, and being unsure is what made us want to wait for the facts to come out?

If we're sure of that, why aren't we sure Zimmerman is a racist who went hunting this kid down?

If you're going to be sure, then what facts do you have?

Wait for the trial, see what evidence there is (on both sides.)

(Oh, and the pictures of "Martin" with tats and gold teeth, flipping off the camera? Turned out to be false - they weren't Martin. Sourcing Trayvon Martin "Photos" From Stormfront : CJR )

[Bighouse Doc]

There was another photo and he was flashing two "C's"

Sorry, I have seen that in person too often!

-Doc

[ToddR]

Blah - let the court proceedings get it all out there - Amazing we still got stone cold opinions w/o all the facts ;)

Agreed. Spewing opinions like this is no better than what the liberal media did in the beginning. Wait till all the FACTS come to light before you say whether Zimmerman acted within the law or not.