THE BULLY LAW and Treyvon Martin

The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman.

This case brings to the forefront two different but related issues -- the Bully Law (stand your ground) and the question of racial bias. Advocates of each appear to dismiss the other and in so doing, they miss the point entirely. Zimmerman's defense used a self defense argument to mask the racial dimension and the Bully Law to extract a "penalty."

One must say the Florida prosecutors failed miserably in their case preparation and presentation. Further, because of the basic conflict between a traditional self defense claim and the revised instructions the judge had to give the jury based on the Bully Law, they enabled an innocent verdict. Because of this, the mistakes and legal conflicts in the law, will never be subject to appeal. If Zimmerman had been convicted -- he would have had the option of appeal. But because Martin was killed and is dead, and Zimmerman was set free, he (Martin) has no appeal right nor recourse to sue his lawyers for shady representation.

Why is the Stand your ground law a bully law? Bullies create situation where they can pick their victims and work their will on them without the threat of retaliation. The Stand your ground law favors the bully with the gun (weapon) and not the bully's victim (armed or unarmed).

In the natural world there are predators and pray. Predators stoke and attack their prey; while prey generally flee their attackers. Civilized societies recognize this difference in individuals and have long recognized that self defense is a shared responsibility. It can be accomplished by either "fight" or "flight." Therefore, the self defense principle places a burden on both parties to a potential conflict. The burden is to chose flight over fight if there is the opportunity to avoid injuring or killing the other party. 

 

Are the scales balanced?

The Bully Law removes that obligation by favoring the attacker and not recognizing the victim's efforts to escape. Even a lion will quit if the intended victim exits the situation fast enough. Zimmerman apparently could not give up on the chase. 


The other element is the timeline. When did "stand your ground" take precedence? Was it when Zimmerman spotted a questionable person in the neighborhood from his car? Or, when he got out of the car? Maybe it was when he confronted Martin (and under what authority?) Or was it when an unarmed Martin chose to stand his ground? No, apparently it was when Zimmerman lost control of the situation which he allegedly created, and drew his gun and shot his unarmed assailant? It seems that the the Florida prosecutors failed to define and control the context and the defense managed to reduce the timeline to the fight. The proximate causes leading up to the fight apparently had no bearing on the jury's decision. And thereby enabling the judge to allow the defense to mount a traditional self-defense argument, ignoring the stand your ground law and procedures while relying on the Bully Law instructions.

What about the racial issue? This case highlights the fact that racism is still present in people like Zimmerman (according the 911 tapes) but it could have just a easily been a Jew, a Muslim, a Yankee or Red Sox fan. The Bully Law legalizes killing and murder by predator personalities of anyone they "feel" is a threat, even if it is threat created by their own prejudice or paranoia. It does not require them to prove that they had no flight option to avoid the threat. It also make the victim, the bully's prey, who choose flight, responsible for her/his own death at the hands of the Bully predator.

The Bully Law represents what is wrong in America's law -- its hypocrisy when it comes to the principle of "innocent until proven guilt," Lately, there seems to be one law for the perpetrator and another for the victim. The "perps" always seem to have the POWER to bully the victims. Congress, the Supreme Court, and the State Legislatures all are co-conspirators in placing the burden of proof on the victim while excusing and even idealizing the bully/predators.No wonder people no longer trust their leaders and institutions.

Easter 2013 The Second amendment vs. the Second commandment

John McCain recently alleged, on the floor of the U S Senate, that “American is a Judeo-Christian nation.” But one has to seriously question this assumption on several grounds. But most significantly at Easter time on the hypocrisy and blaspheme of the National Rifle Association and its supporters who claim to be Jewish or Christians but act as heathens. They have placed their alleged 2^nd Amendment rights under the US Constitution above the 2^nd of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.

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The Second Amendment

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The Second Commandment

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6

The hypocrisy comes from the argument that the right to own an unregulated gun (firearm) is part of the natural right (God given) to self defense as set forth in the Constitution as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. It is not mentioned in the Bible, the Torah or Talmud, nor, for that matter in the Koran (Quran), that God gave human kind a natural right to own a gun.

Blaspheme comes when the NRA and their members worship the carved image of the Lord, “GUN.” And claim that GUN is more powerful than GOD. They present assault weapons and over-sized magazine clips as the angels of the Golden Calf. These apostates of the Judea-Christian tradition bow down to the Church of the NRA. The NRA Board is their curia and its Spokesperson is their Pope. They claim that the foundation of this nation is based upon God’s surrender of keys to the kingdom to the Lord, GUN, through his profession of the second amendmant. 

More than a century ago, William Jennings Bryan warned that the nation was being crucified on a Cross of Gold. Today, we are witnessing the nation and its children being crucified on a Cross of the 2^nd Amendment.

In the Easter Season (2013), will the Chicken Hawks in Washington bow down to the Lord GUN and shot craps over the Constitution and its meaning at the foot of the Cross? And will they sell their vote to the NRA saying, “… What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:15 ?

Is this the Gun Lobby’s prayer for EASTER 2013?:

Our GUN in heaven,
hallowed be your Brand.
Your votes come,
your bribes be won,
on earth as in Congress
Give us today our daily bill.
Forgive us our misfires,
as we forgive those who misfire against us.
Lead us not into compromise,
but deliver us from reason.
For the kingdom of the GUN,
the caliber and the capacity are yours.
Now and forever. 

All praise Ammunition.

Gun Control - Prevention, Mitigation and Rehabilitation

Better than any statement I could hope to make about our need to take control of the gun culture that threatens our basic liberties on the one hand, and the lives of innocent civilians on the other, is the statement reported last night (1 - 30 - 2013) in a segment entitled the Rewrite on The Last Word 

After listening to the testimony of David Wheeler (Click on the above link), who lost his son at Sandy Hook on December 14th, 2012, I want to ask you to consider the questions: What are your priorities?  What should be ours as a nation?

In my mind, the only sensible, responsible response to Mr. Wheeler and his son is to look at the gun control issue in its full context and not just a piece-meal political bag of bargaining chips to be used to kick the problem down the road while upsetting the least number of special interests. The central focus must be on the instrument of death and destruction, the GUN and GUN ACCESS, and not scapegoating the issue by shifting the focus to other important, but tangential, issues such as mental health, criminality, or alleged Constitutional Rights.

What we need is an open and complete discussion and debate followed by the creation and implementation of laws and policies that tackle the three major elements of GUN CONTROL. These are: the Prevention, Mitigation and Rehabilitation of the impact of guns on people. Prevention, mitigation, and rehabilitation are all required in order to develop an effective GUN CONTROL policy. Such a policy would place the responsibility for the GUN on the gun owner. (After all, gun ownership it is a personal choice, and not an obligation under the 2nd Amendment).

Prevention: The government, representing ALL of the people, should be setting the regulations to distinguish between lawful ownership and use and unlawful ownership and use of all firearms. A first step would be for Congress to enable the proper authorities to collect and RETAIN the records of all GUNs and their transactional history.  Second would be to enable a comprehensive codification and simplification of Gun laws at the national, state and local levels and come up with a Uniform Code of Gun Ownership, e.g. the Uniform Commercial Code which governs interstate commerce. Code would govern the rights and obligations of ownership and the processes for legal transfer of title.

Mitigation: In a crisis situation, how do we expect a Rent-a-guard or vigilante to be prepared to take on a perp with an assault weapon and 30 round magazine/clip? Regulations limiting the access to "combat style" weapons may limit the arms race between the authorities and the "bad guys" and mitigate the collateral damage. Gun and gun related incidents arise because of the availability of a GUN, as a weapon, to threaten or to assault, or to use deliberately and with premeditation to intimidate the other party to the incident. Thus, policies developed to regulate a person's access to, and the types of, a gun and gun related (ammunition, clips, storage, etc) activity are called for. By placing responsibility for any and all claims of liabilities on the owner of record, rights of ownership are balanced by the responsibilities of ownership.

Rehabilitation: There is considerable debate in the media about the causes of gun violence but very little which recognizes and reports on the long term consequences to the victims We need educate the public and their representatives about the long terms costs of gun violence and accidents on the victims and the community.  We can start by assigning legal responsibility for the GUN to the registered owner of the gun, just as we do now with the automobile, a pit bull, etc. The liability for the consequences of gun injuries, damage and deaths, arising from an incident should be "presumed" by the law and the courts to be the obligation of the official owner of the gun. The owner of the gun,  used in the incident, should be held responsible for compensating all of the victims, unless proven otherwise. In an earlier essay, I have suggested that a mandatory insurance policy on the GUN might be used to help both owners and victims.

What are your thoughts? And how do you answer Mr. Wheeler and the other parents of the victims of gun violence and accidents?

"I fail to see ..."

" I fail to see how requiring gun owners to purchase liability insurance will reduce gun violence. Given the track record of the insurance industry in general it seems wishful thinking that they will serve the public interest in this case." 

 This comment, rather cynical and biased, reflects the narrowness, in-the-box, mind set that pervades the gun control debate. We need to break out of our personal ideological boxes and start thinking as a community about how we resolve the constitutional conflict we have created for ourselves regarding GUNS.

However, I would argue the insurance mandate would cut the cost of gun violence for the survivors and might serve as a deterrent to irresponsible gun ownership by exacting a real price for owning a particular type of gun under particular circumstances. It monetizes to right to gun ownership.

Right now, in the USA, only the governments have the responsibility to regulate guns. Their interests are, as we see daily, compromised by the political process and power of special interests at all levels. There is only one common rule for gun control recognized in the US. The "right" to bear arms. The responsibilities for that right are not uniform, non existent, and/or not enforced

The only way to control a special interest, in my experience, is with a countervailing special interest. It is the Ying/Yang of political power. There is no central interest in government to control weapons or how they are used. Good and bad arguments are made on both sides of the issue.

The insurance industry has but one interest -- to be profitable to its shareholders. It does this by taking on other peoples risks at a price. To be profitable, the price must be greater than the demand made upon the risk pool the insurance company has established to satisfy claims against its policies. The proposal I'm making is the same type of liability insurance currently mandated in many states for purchase, registration and operation of a motor vehicles.

If you want to own a vehicle and want use a motor vehicle in the state, you must register it. In order to register it you must prove that you have, in force, insurance that covers the other driver or victim in the event of an accident.The cost of insurance is part of your price of owning a car.

Insurance companies price of their insurance policies based on the history of the owner, the type of vehicle being insured, and the history of that class of vehicle, among other things.

The public policy issue of what to do for the victim when hit by an uninsured driver is addressed by the insurance mandate. This legally pins responsibility on the car owner."You are personally responsible for the damages caused by your car." Now, read "gun" in place of "car".

The administration of the law is done through the private section. And the cost of owning and the operating vehicle or gun comes out of your pocket. An incentive to buy the insurance is that the insurance can help you to control your costs or liability in the event of an accident. The premiums paid into the insurance company creates a pool of funds from which victims recover their losses, which is an incentive for the public and tax payers to support mandate And the insurance company owners are motivated to rationally assess their risks and policies and setting prices in order to make a profit.

It all comes down to the money and not the ideological excesses of pro- and con- fanatics and submissive political hacks.

See also: Man the Toolmaker or the Tool?

A Primer to resources for The Gun Control/Gun Policy Debate

As concerned citizens with a strong moral sense, we need data and facts to apply to our moral reactions and judgments to life’s challenges. Being a good responsible citizen does not call for   us to simply to go with the flow, nor to ignore of tragic events in the lives of our fellow humans. As responsible adults we can not accept or ignore the evil in the world. Civil society expects us to use our experience to test and refine our faith and clarify our moral responsibility in the world. Gun violence and ownership in the United States is a moral issue.

The Bill of Rights makes clear that the first fundamental right from which all others follow is the 1st Amendment. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The 1^st Amendment of the Bill of Rights insures the right to a redress of grievances. Current guns laws and their absence pose a genuine threat to the safety and security of the citizenry Today, however, it seems that the 2^nd Amendment has become the challenger to the 1^st Amendment We need to consider where the boundaries  are to be drawn between these two principles; and why “bearing arms” carries such a strong moral imperative for responsible gun ownership. .  It is time for Congress and the courts to clarify which of the rights has priority.

Regardless of your feels about the gun ownership, let us debate the issue based on a common set of objective facts. This Primer is presented as a resource for those who have a serious interest and commitment to working for solutions to the current and future problem poses by the unlimited access to guns.

Let us begin with the most basic of facts:

What does a gun and bullet do to the human body?

"No matter which side you take on the sale and use of firearms in this country, the fact remains that you will encounter the results of firearms injuries. This tutorial is designed to give you a working knowledge of the types of firearms, the types of ammunition used, the nature of injuries that can be produced in the body, and the investigative techniques employed by the forensic pathologist in assessing firearms injuries."

from:  the Firearms Tutorial University of Utah College of Medicine
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNINTRO.html

What is irresponsible firearms use?

Here is an example:  Celebratory gunfire - often seen in the movies, holidays and weddings around the world    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebratory_gunfire

What is the human cost of guns on American Society?

Here are some additional sources related to the issue of gun ownership and accidental and irresponsible gun use in the United States. The impact of gun deaths, injuries and accidents in context of the overall health care system can be found in the statistic from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

All Injuries
Mortality
All injury deaths
Number of deaths: 177,154
Deaths per 100,000 population: 57.7
Motor vehicle traffic deaths
Number of deaths: 34,485
Deaths per 100,000 population: 11.2
All poisoning deaths
Number of deaths: 41,592
Deaths per 100,000 population: 13.5
All firearm deaths
Number of deaths: 31,347
Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.2
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm

Assault or Homicide
Mortality
All homicides
Number of deaths: 16,799
Deaths per 100,000 population: 5.5
Cause of death rank: 15
Firearm homicides
Number of deaths: 11,493
Deaths per 100,000 population: 3.7
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm

Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury
Mortality
All suicides
Number of deaths: 36,909
Deaths per 100,000 population: 12.0
Cause of death rank: 10
Firearm suicides
Number of deaths: 18,735
Deaths per 100,000 population: 6.1
Suffocation suicides
Number of deaths: 9,000
Deaths per 100,000 population: 2.9
Poisoning suicides
Number of deaths: 6,398
Deaths per 100,000 population: 2.1
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm

Do your own search for cause of death and by ages 0 - 65+ go to
The National Center for Injury Control and Prevention
WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, National and Regional, 1999 - 2010
http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10_us.html

Where is gun violence to be found?

The geography of gun violence in the USA
The Atlantic Maps
The Geography of U.S. Gun Violence
by Richard Florida Dec 14, 2012 148 Comments
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/12/geography-us-gun-violence/4171/

What is the financial cost of firearms death to individuals and society?

From an insurance point of view
THE COST OF FIREARM DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCIES AND INCREASED INSURANCE COSTS
Jean Lemaire
Source: The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2005, Vol. 72, No. 3, 359-374
http://www.fox.temple.edu/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/JeanLemaire.pdf

 

 What are your local gun laws?
 The source is the NRA itself check this link  http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws.aspx


What is the impact of gun laws and ownership on criminal and public safety?

For specific Administration statistics check out the following for the most recent data:

The firearms industry as presented by the ATF Department of Justice
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/industry/ (Firearms page)

FBI Crime statistics http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats (Crime statistics page search results)

What is the police response to school violence involving guns?

Prevention and Response to School Violence  from the International Association of Chiefs of Police

http://www.theiacp.org/PublicationsGuides/Projects/PreventionandResponsetoSchoolViolence/tabid/378/Default.aspx

What do school official say about gun violence in schools?

“Preventing Gun Violence in Public Schools” from National Association of Secondary School Principles

http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=55496

Who are the main lobbying organizations supporting the 2^nd Amendment and gun ownership?

Here are the links to several gun lobby groups

http://www.amfire.com/ American Firearms (Home page - retailers)

http://www.nraila.org/ (NRA) National Rifle Association (Home Page)

http://jpfo.org/ (JPFO) Jews for the preservation of Firearms Ownership (Home Page)

Here is the most ironic in light of Sandy Hook
http://www.nssf.org/ (NSSF) the National Shooting Sports Foundation (Home page)
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Flintlock Ridge Office Center
1. Mile Hill Road
Newtown, CT 06470-2359

http://gunowners.org/protect.htm (GOA) Gun Owners of America (Home page)

Read about the Rhode Island Connection to the founding of the NRA

The NRA was founded after our civil war.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association.
 

Sources for further information

To monitor many news sources and congressional action check out:

The Orator Network http://www.theorator.com/index.html

There are plenty of articles and commentaries available through a Google, Bing, or Yahoo search but you may be interested in the statistical data, the actions of congress, and the statements from the industry. The above is offered to assist you in your research.

You are invited to add to the list.

 Americans for Responsible Solutions   Gabby Gifford initiative on Gun Control
 http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/01/07/gabby-giffords-mark-kelly-tucson-shooting-gun-control/1816383/

Carrying Laws 
http://www.usacarry.com/rhode_island_concealed_carry_permit_information.html


 Keeping Score:

How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html

 January 2013
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/cmpd-committed-prevent-gun-violence-2013/nTsDR/
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-shooting-taft-california-183012601.html