re: #328 Political Atheist

I agree with this entirely. We have to accept multiple possibilities.

I have a slight disagreement with you above-There is no better outcome for CCW. Bad and bad are the options i think Fortunately this kind of incident is not at all common among CCW holders. Mostly by far and away it’s carry all day and nothing happens.

Even if GZ is found not guilty-Only an deliberate idiot would actually look at this and see they can repeat Zimmermans actions and be anything but wrong, likely to get in huge legal peril, and stupid beyond all measure.

Unfortunately, the current laws for CCW ownership don’t prevent deliberate idiots from owning weapons. And it really does show how easily you could get away with this. Pick the local thug, a guy with a known violent past, a real thug, unlike Trayvon. Find him in an unobserved location, pick a fight with him, and then shoot him.

Anyway, my point is people’s perceptions of CCW holders. Since more people are starting to understand that owning a gun for personal defense is a red herring that’s completely inappropriate for most people, this case has increased the distrust of CCW holders by the public, especially the particular defense that Zimmerman used that Trayvon ‘went for his gun’ and that’s why he had to shoot him.

It unforunately doesn’t matter how frequent this is, since it’s highly publicized. And since most people are smart enough to figure out that the ordinary person doesn’t actually need a gun for self-defense, this has made people look at CCW holders more askance. Unfortunately, US gun culture, with its fetishization of Rambo self-defense and ‘man-card’ bullshit means there are CCW holders who fantasize about being a vigilante hero, too. And they’re often the loudest.