TRAGEDY STRIKES
THE TRAYVON - ZIMMERMAN ENCOUNTER
Its time to start thinking about a highly concealable self-defense carry firearm, the bad guys already have thought of it. But it is a tremendous responsibility and for some, even good intentions can turn afoul.
Unless you live in a cave… this incident has gone national and we all know what happens during an election year. Even when two good guys get together, the end result can be a tragedy. Fate and mayhem have no boundaries. Politicians wake up and start thinking gun bans.
BOTTOM LINE
A good guy with a weapon thinks he sees a bad guy doing something wrong. Unfortunately the youngster was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the good guy makes a judgement to confront him, after being told specifically not to by 911, officers were already on the way, he confronts the seventeen year old.
The seventeen year old thinking he is being attacked defends himself and dies during the confrontation by a single fatal wound. He was outgunned, he had no weapon. He was fighting for his life being outweighed by the other good guy. Tragedy, a single shot and a 17 year old is dead.
Bob, who is an expert witness, hit it on the head, this whole case is based on who is the aggressor. Plenty of conjecture, opinions by those who weren't there, witnesses who heard but did not see, more opinions, slants, spins, public outcry, those who will use it for political reasons, but the bottom line is two good guys entered the arena of life and one came out. The case is on fast track and will come to fruition sooner rather then later as this is a no nonsense judge and this case has national following.
GUARANTEED THIS WILL AMEND THE STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
With legislature in the works once again, and with lots of heat coming from the "Stand your ground laws" which went many states have adopted and already some lawyers have abused, this all comes at the wrong time.
Florida now has a "Stand your ground commission looking at the law". It is composed of community leaders, law officials and legal authorities. It has one, call it a representative of the NRA on board. The Florida Congressmen and Senators fostered this bill a couple years ago with heavy FINANCIAL campaign donations and support of the NRA and not that much is expected to change.
Maybe as the Vegas odds-makers have it, a change in wordage by amendment, not much more.
THE NEW CARRY PASSED IN CONGRESS…NOW THERE IS THE SENATE
By a bipartisan vote of 272-154, the House passed a measure that will enable non-resident gun owners to carry a concealed firearm across state borders. Forty-three Democrats joined 229 Republicans in supporting the measure, which had 245 co-sponsors. Just seven Republicans joined 147 Democrats in voting against the bill. H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, allows gun owners with valid state-issued concealed firearm permits to carry a concealed firearm in other states that also allow concealed carry.
“The Second Amendment is a fundamental right to bear arms that should not be constrained by state boundary lines,” said the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas. “This legislation enhances public safety and protects the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
THE SENATE BILL
Currently, Illinois is the only state that bans individuals from carrying concealed firearms, while 49 states allow concealed carry permits. Forty of those that do allow it extend some degree of reciprocity to permit holders from other states. This bill simply applies the states’ reciprocal agreements nationwide.
The bill is unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where companion legislation has not yet been introduced.
Brian Malte, the federal legislation director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the bill would create a “race to the bottom,” where people would flock to states with the most lax requirements in order to obtain a concealed handgun license.
“This bill says, ‘Forget states rights, forget the ability of states to determine which states you want to have a reciprocal agreement with,’” Malte said. “It’s a one-size-fits-all that tramples states rights, that allows dangerous and untrained people to carry in any state.”.
A bill passed last week would require any state that allows the carrying of concealed weapons to honor permits that other states issue to their citizens. A traveler from Texas, say, would be entitled to pack his pistol on a visit to California — regardless of the preferences of Californians. (Because it doesn't issue such permits, Illinois would not be affected.)
Advocates compare these permits to driver's license's, which are recognized across state lines. But Northwestern University law professor Andrew Koppelman points out this reciprocity came about by mutual consent of the states, not by federal decree.
States are free to do the same on guns. Most right-to-carry states, as it happens, already honor permits from some or all other states. California and New York, by contrast, restrict concealed weapons to licensed residents of their states.