C) Maybe it's not such a good idea to allowed everyone to carry around their guns everywhere just in case? If Zimmermann hadn't had a gun, Martin would have still been alive and we wouldn't be having this discussion. I was a tad shocked when I read 29 US-States allow their residents to carry gun around.
Well, in most cases you have to have a permit. In a few cases you can carry without a permit if you do so openly, but generally, you have to have a permit.
And it used to be those permits weren't all that easy to get: it took a lot of work. You would have to ask one of our Chazzers who has one how hard it is now.
The people I know with permits are pretty deeply responsible. The problem with Zimmerman was that he went looking for trouble. The people I know would not have started trouble like that . . . they have too much respect for the weapon, and frankly, for other people's business. (and yes, one of them has shot someone . . .that other person had a gun and was actively committing a crime. He chose to shoot at Mike's stepfather instead of dropping it when told to.)
I am generallly supportive of concealed carry permits. In most cases they don't seem to cause much trouble and I think people have a right to defend themselves, and for most people, a gun is the best way to do that in a country full of guns (which isn't going to change). But, I have to concede this. It used to be that to get a permit you pretty much had to show you were a responsible gun owner and a "good citizen" with background tests, classes, etc. In Zimmerman's case, he was SUCH a "good citizen" that he couldn't keep his nose out of other people's business . . . with catastrophic results.
I have to comment on Geraldo's dumb comment and say that as outrageous as what he said was, he wasn't entirely wrong. I had thought the same thing the day before. Had Trayvon been wearing clothes from Eddie Bauer, he's still be alive. A nice polo shirt, khakis, designer windbreaker, loafers . . . no question, he wouldn't have drawn a second look except to admire his taste in clothing.
Of course, most kids, of any race, don't dress like that. Indeed, most people of any race or age don't dress like that, at least not all the time. Mike, my fiance, owns and wears a hoodie in bad weather. Its an inexpensive, but practical garment and it keeps your neck, ears and head warm. Its popular for that reason, and yes, because it allows a sense of anonymity . . . which doesn't mean you are up to no good. A I know many times in my life (including when I was a teen) in which feeling like I was invisible on the street was just a good feeling. I was not a delinquent and I certainly wasn't dangerous.
So, yes, the hoodie contributed to Trayvon's death . . . but doesn't make it Trayvon's fault . . . or the hoodie's fault. It was Zimmerman who interpreted an extremely common garment as a sign of criminality. It was the media (both press and entertainment), who has indoctrinated us all with images that say "black man with hoodie = criminal." Zimmerman took that stereotype for fact . . . he didn't reflect on what he was actually seeing . . . a young black man, in a hoodie, walking down the street. That's it. That's all he saw (as far as we know, and that's all he told 9-1-1 . . . the rest was speculation, based on a stereotype.) So yes, the hoodie was a factor . . .it triggered a very stupid stereotype in the mind of a man who wasn't given much to reflection and who owned a gun. Again, who's fault is that?