Unintended consequences of bad laws are sometimes hard to imagine until they become apparent, but Florida's Stand Your Ground right to defend yourself has to hit the heights of lunacy if not reexamined by the Florida Legislature.
Whatever the real facts prove to be, the following irony is entirely possible.
Mr. Zimmerman was following Mr. Martin in a threatening manner to Mr. Martin. We know this because he told his girl friend he was being followed and was concerned. So, if Mr. Martin defended himself by attacking Mr. Zimmerman, he would have been within his rights according to the Stand Your Ground legislation. In turn, Mr. Zimmerman would also have been within his rights to defend himself if attacked by Mr. Martin. So, the logic of this law is two people can attack each other and neither is guilty of anything if harm comes to one or the other.
The only way Mr. Zimmerman can be found guilty of anything is if Mr. Martin continue his walk home and never threatened Mr. Zimmerman. I am not sure the exact facts can ever be discerned but I do know this law needs to be reexamined if Florida is not going to become the OK Corral for drug dealers and anyone else prone to threatening each other. Not to mention random acts of attack on innocent people.
Tragic story. Two things that I have heard (but that you are not likely to hear from Al Sharpton): 1) Zimmerman is Hispanic, and 2) he tutored young black students.
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