Murder In Sanford Florida - No One Has Mentioned This

Karl:  Thank you for commenting.  Your comment directed at Fred I have one thing to add.  The uproar which has now caught the media attention was the result of social media.  This case got no attention until it went viral on Facebook.  Then the media grabbed it and internet sites like Change.org put up national petitions.

I am glad the mainstream media has taken this up.  The media has totally missed the point that legally Zimmerman did not hae the right to be in possession of a firearm when he reported for "duty" if you will.

Another point of clarification.  Personal concealed weapons permits are just that - personal protection. As a Real Estate agent I have every right to carry a gun.  If I am driving through a neighborhood and see a robbery in progress I cannot get out of my car and shoot the guys.  I have to stay in my car and call 911. Armed or not I do not have the right to use a weapon under those circumstances.

Let me use another example to make the point.

In my former life I was employed by the largest armored car company in the United States.  I was a Corporate employee and had the credentials to access any facility, any truck and any Federal Reserve in the United States.  My position made me a potential target for kidnapping.  My job description did not include protecting with deadly force the assets of the company.

Every employee who dealt directly with valuables WAS licensed with an additional license to use deadly force to benefit the employer.  In Florida that license is the G license.  (Other states it may be called something else)

I was permitted to carry concealed with a state issued license for my personal protection.  I had reciprocity with any state jurisdiction if my right to carry was questioned.  That was a professional courtesy extended to employees of armored car companies.

One night I was in a facility in Bangor Maine.  The FBI called the branch to alert us that there was a credible threat to one of our trucks that night.  No one knew which truck and we had 6 either on the road or leaving.  We did not have enough employees at the branch to add a "shot gun" guard to every truck that night.  Including myself there were 5 members of management in the branch.

The nearby Air Force base came over with extra vests and shot guns.  The local Chief of Police came to the facility to deputize members of management to cover the emergency.  If we were not deputized, and we shot someone, we could have been brought up on charges.

This is the point I'm trying to get across with Zimmerman.  He was "on the job" with the intent to protect assets which did not belong to him personally.  Neither his personal concealed nor Stand Your Ground offers him the "right" to use a firearm.

If it turns out that Zimmerman is afforded protection under Stand Your Ground - I'll be the first one to say that law needs to be repealed!

Vern:  It's frustrating that the public is focusing on the concealed permit and demonizing it, without knowing Zimmerman was actually without the proper license.

Jason thank you for stopping by.  I'm glad I could shed some light on a confusing issue.  Like I said I'm frustrated the public does not understand the significance.

Satar:  You'll see my comments about my former home town Sanford Fl on another post out here.

First if you describe the circumstances as self defense the police are not lawyers.  It is not their job to determine whether or not your intreptation is correct.  It's easy to claim self defense. 

Second - I made the statement about Stand Your Ground after I made a point.  Zimmerman did not carry a G license.  I went into great detail to make the significance of that license understood.  Even a police officer carries a G or higher,  not a concealed.

If he was patrolling the complex he was illegally using his concealed weapons permit.  To carry your gun with the intent of thwarting a robbery of property which is not yours legally you need a G license.  You also MUST carry the weapon in clear sight.

If the court over looks his obligation to optain a G permit and allows him to hide behind Stand Your Ground the law needs to be repealed.  That is not in the sprit or the intent of the law.

That law was for folks like you and me who were going about our business and were attacked out in the open.

Zimmerman was going about the business of the HOA not carrying groceries from his car to his door.  There is a huge distinction legally.

Nick Thank you for the feature.

Nick: Back up - Zimmerman was stalking Martin. 911 tells him to stand down. He ignores it.  We have no idea how long he followed the kid and what his demeanor was.  Martin was on his phone telling his girlfriend he was scared.

Where were these witnesses from the beginning? The first reports according to Zimmerman, Martin looked suspicious and appeared to be reaching for something in his pants. The act of reaching for something was initially reported as the provocation to shoot Martin.  That put both parties standing on their feet.

Remember this happened February 26.  Zimmermans story only came under scrutiny in the last 10 days.  How come it changed?

Did you also hear the interview with a woman who lives right outside where the scuffle took place? She claimed she heard a child whining.  Not crying not an adult, she said it sounded like a child. So what caused Martin to cry out?  You can't ignore that witness either.

We do not know if Zimmerman came up behind Martin and tried to detain or question him.  We do not know who threw the first punch.  We do not know if one or both of them lost their balance and fell on each other.

Nick - if you are walking through a dark parking lot - unarmed- some guy is following you and approaches you in a menacing way - what are you going to do?  You also have to put yourself in that situation with a 17 year old brain.  You as an adult man might exhibit some restraint until you found out what the guy wanted - but would a teenager?

I heard there was a witness who states Martin was on top of Zimmerman.  If you've ever watched a physical confrontation it's fluid and things happen in split seconds. 

I disagree that this situation was INITIALLY fueled by the Libs.  I was following the story when it was NOT in the headlines.  If you recall my first blog came out BEFORE Sharpton and the rest of them got involved.  It was being spread all over the internet on Facebook. His family started it. That's how I found out about it to start with.

NOW yes, the liberals are running wild with it.  Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton never get involved with an issue unless it is already high profile.

THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING AND ASK WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE:

Nick I'm going ask you something else and anyone who is proficient with firearms.  Now that you have handled a gun think about this. 

You are down on your back - some guy is sitting on you BEATING you - how do you reach your arm across your body to your holster -unsnap the restraint-  remove a gun - release the safety - and PULL BACK THE SLIDE TO CHAMBER A ROUND with both hands ?  After that you have to turn the gun to fire. It's a two handed process.  It was a 9mm not a 38 revolver.  A 38 you do not have to pull back the hammer you can fire without preparation.  This WAS NOT a 38. You could accomplish the move more easily with a 38.

It has to take at least 3 seconds to accomplish the moves with a 9mm - and I'm giving the guy a lot of proficiency and a cool head during those 3 seconds. Wrestling the gun out is no small task.  So tell me - Martin is sitting on Zimmerman facing him and just watches him reaching for his gun and does nothing?  Remember Zimmerman has to have both hands free and mobile to do this.

Cut down the time - yup - you can.  You pre-load the round in the chamber and return the gun to the holster with the safety on  "READY TO SHOOT".  You still have to reach across your body, unsnap the holster , release the safety and turn the gun to shoot.  Not only do you need time = you need clearance.

Again Nick let me ask you what your instructor told you.  Were you told to carry the gun with a round chambered?  No - not for personal protection.  It's dangerous to carry that way. It's even more dangerous to carry without the saftey on.

You only pre-load the round if you are expecting to need it quickly.  Cops have a round chambered - Zimmerman was not a cop.  He was a wanna be.

If he started to patrol the grounds with a round chambered it was a premeditated act.  This complex was not invaded by drug lords or a pit of robberies and rapes.  There was no intell to support that he might expect someone to accost him that night nor was his life in danger.

Zimmerman has a John Wayne sydrome clear and simple.  He was not properly trained to carry a weapon "on the job".  That is proven by the fact he did not possess a G license.  There is more training needed to attain a G license than simply hitting a target.

Here is another question I'd like answered.  What 9mm load did he carry?  Was it a standard load or Hydroshock or Black Talon?  In my prior life working for Brink's our attornies would not allow our employees to load Hydroshock or Black Talons.  Why? It was considered "overkill" and something Brink's did not want to defend in court in the event they killed someone.

Fred:  I agree this has become a convenient platform for liberals and hate mongers.  From my prospective it's not about a racial crime.  It's about proper investigation number one.  Number two it's about tainting and demonizing those of us who carry firearms conscientiously for personal protect in.

The next rally will be to repeal the carry laws in Florida and other states.  I want Zimmerman to be unmasked for what I believe he was.  A self appointed vigilante.

Rob:  When I lived there in the 80's it was open carry.  I corrected that earlier in the comments.

http://www.readytodefend.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=5&chapter=12

Above is a website which outlines all states which have castle laws.  I found this article on the Florida site.  You may find it interesting.

Example of the kind of attack that will not justify defending yourself with deadly force: Two neighbors got into a fight, and one of them tried to hit the other by swinging a garden hose. The neighbor who was being attacked with the hose shot the other in the chest. The court upheld his conviction for aggravated battery with a firearm, because an attack with a garden hose is not the kind of violent assault that justifies responding with deadly force.

Satar:

"I want Zimmerman to be unmasked for what I believe he was.  A self appointed vigilante."