What training is required to patrol a street? Another self serving utterly ridiculous exaggeration. NO ONE is advocating this absurd notion - NO ONE! "Some of you guys take incomplete information and run with it to support the conclusion you want." Did you know that in the US over 5% of POLICE shootings involve innocent bystanders being shot - by the POLICE? Private citizen self defense shootings only involve an innocent bystander being shot 2% of the time. And you want only the supposedly "trained" police to have guns?
Where I live, they are far worse than Zimmerman, and blowing each others brains out occurs on a regular basis. Best you stay in Canada, where it is safe and cozy, as I really don't think you could handle it.
I would have no problem with it. But do you know why he carries a gun? Of course you don't. There was vicious dog in the neighborhood that had menaced his wife and mother-in-law on three separate occasions. The third time he called the police. The investigating officer told him not to bother with pepper spray but to start carrying a handgun. Both Zimmerman and his wife took courses and got their permits to carry a gun. Here are some facts: "We've documented 2,160 stories of self-defense with guns since May 2007 â the same time frame the VPC used," said Burnett. "When it comes to concealed carry permits, we have 153 documented cases across 26 states with at least 550 lives saved." The Violence Policy Center (VPC) recently claimed concealed weapons licensees are killers, offering stories as proof. Burnett says the VPC is distorting the truth. "If these victims had been disarmed, they wouldn't be able to fight backâ¦they'd be dead," said Burnett. "Since no place is immune from crime, we must allow people to be armed for their own protection. Nobody wants to kill someone, but nobody wants to die either." http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/research-concealed-carry-and-guns-save-lives-95307939.html
I'd let Zimm patrol my neighborhood. He obviously did a better job keeping the trash out than the police were doing.
The number of people shot (in the USA, innocent and guilty, from genuine self defense to straight up evil) by C&C folks is so tiny when compared to people shot by nonC&C as to be silly when side by side. Fact is, your average C&C holder is a far less danger than your typical poor, black, young male. Imagine being alone on a dark street with a broken down car and a pretty lady in the passenger seat with no phone. You have two people you can reach out to, Trayvon and George. And let us suppose you know some things about these people, like arrests, suspensions, drug use and armed status. Where you going for help? From just this morning here in Charlotte: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/30/4138630/2-hospitalized-after-sunday-morning.html
Statistically people with concealed carry permits are five times less likely to commit a crime vs people without a CCW permit.
First, Zimmerman lived in that neighborhood. He wasn't just out cruising around looking for trouble. He was volunteering to make his neighborhood safer. He coudl have been home watching some game or surfing the internet, but instead he was out on a rainy night looking for criminals. It's not like he was paranoid either, as his neighborhood had numerous breakins. Second, I agree with you that I am not really comfortable with the idea that every Tom, Dick and Mary is out there carrying a gun, legally or not. Many are well-trained, some just trained enough to get a CCW permit. Anytime someone is carrying, there is the risk that an ordinary confrontation turns deadly. We have discussed that on these boards before. The facts are however that, contrary to the hysterical fears of anti-gun activists, concealed carry laws have been a big success in the US. The predicted orgy of killings over parking spots and traffic accidents has not materialized. Indeed, as Lucrum notes, police have a much higher rate of hitting bystanders than armed citizens. In addition, research has documented that violent crime rates have declined in states with CCW laws. Finally, yes, I would feel better with Zimmerman out here patrolling the streets of my neighborhood. Cops get into situations all the time that result in people, some unarmed and some innocent, being shot. No one is demanding that cops be taken off the street. Few get charged. Certainly, if Zimmerman had been a police officer, he would never had been charged, even with race hustlers fomenting riots. You seem to be outraged over the death of Martin, and perhaps baffled by our seeming acceptance of it. The unhappy fact of it is that he is not at all unusual in our big urban areas. A borderline criminal with a chip on his shoulder, looking for an excuse to get violent with someone, particularly a white. Zimmerman's account of their encounter makes perfect sense and is consistent with all other facts and evidence. The state's version by contrast is ludicrous. They want us to believe that Zimmerman would call the police as he was stalking a guy he had targeted for racial reasons, then shoot him right after getting off the phone with the police. If he had attacked Martin, where is the evidence? All Zimmerman's wounds were defensive.
Many Americans on here seem to embrace violence in their lives and struggle with healthy attitudes about race relations. Certainly, the gun lobby has been extremely successful in ensuring that the US will continue to post huge crime rates compared to the rest of the Western world. In fact, there is enough noise and really bad research out there to keep the public basically in the dark for decades it seems. It is what it is. A reasonable person would want to know why a city like Chicago has 9 times the murder rate of Toronto, and only a fool would attribute such a monstrous difference to the colour of people's skin ( besides, 47% of Toronto is visible minority, its an extremely diverse city with the true metropolitan area more like 6 or 7 million ). America is supposably a modern, progressive society with decent education, is it not ? In many ways, Zimmerman is not unlike some posters on this site. He fears people that are different then he is. He's not in great shape or properly trained, but his gun gives him false strength. He seeks out trouble and feels justified in killing someone if need be. And, you know what, if this is the kind of society you want, you got it. Just stop getting upset when the inevitable happens and people die and others get jailed. The collateral damage will always be there too, a lot of innocent people will go down there is no avoiding it. I see Zimmerman and on the surface I'm not sure I'd trust him to park my car nevermind carry a gun. But apparently the standard for this responsibility in the US is no more then say the requirements to take an entry level job at McDonalds. So mistakes will happen, people will die, new cases will hit the news regularily. I see no reason for things to change, expecially if Zimmerman walks it sends a clear message for every vigilante type that they can act irresponsibly and recklessly and get away with it. And every American will have more reason then ever to fear ANYONE they meet on the street.