Posted on 05/05/2012 1:14:35 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
At the request of my online editor, I am very hesitantly going to discuss the Trayvon Martin case, only because it has huge teachable potential to anyone thinking about carrying a gun for self defense.
The Trayvon Martin case is just about the ultimate Worst Case Scenario, a “Perfect Storm” if you will when it comes to a concealed carry confrontation (one where the shooter survives). I am not talking about the actual physical confrontation, but rather the aftermath.
I don’t know what happened that night in Florida, and neither does anyone else. The only person who knows exactly what happened is George Zimmerman, and even he might be fuzzy on a few things from the photos I’ve seen of his bloody head. That fact, however, has apparently been lost on everyone who is screaming about race or gun control or Castle Doctrine. It’s not that I don’t have strong opinions on what I think is going on with this case, it’s that I recognize that’s what they are—opinions. Let’s look at some facts.
If you carry a gun for self-defense, and get involved in a shooting, odds are you will be sued, either by the person you’ve shot, or their surviving family members. You should also assume that, no matter how clear cut a case of self-defense it was, that you will be put in handcuffs at the scene, arrested, and treated by the authorities like a criminal.
I am not mentioning these items to dissuade anyone from carrying a gun for self-defense—it’s far better to be on trial for shooting someone than to be dead—but rather to make sure nobody has any false illusions about how the justice system in our country can and often does work.
Once done defending yourself in court (post bail costs and attorney fees), if you find yourself a free man or woman, there is a good chance you will be sued in civil court. Even if you win, you will have more attorney fees. No matter what the verdict in George Zimmerman’s criminal trial, I would not be surprised if he gets sued by family members of Trayvon Martin. I predicted to friends that Zimmerman would be charged with civil rights violations by Eric Holder’s Justice Department if he wasn’t charged by local authorities, and that still may happen. Again, Zimmerman is living through the Worst Case Scenario of a shooting aftermath, and while it is unlikely that most people who get involved in a self-defense shooting will suffer the same kind of attention, everyone who carries a gun needs to know that it is possible.
It may turn out that a number of people who have leaked information about this case to the press have straight-out lied. People lie in court all the time. You cannot control what other people do, only what you do. Get some documented training, call 9-1-1 either during or as soon as practical after a confrontation, and when the authorities show up, just remember that anything you say can and most likely will be used against you in a court of law.
Protect yourself, protect your loved ones, and if you ever find yourself facing a media lynching or being accused in the press of all sorts of things that just aren’t true, maybe your only recourse will be knowing you did the right thing when the time came.
“If you carry a gun for self-defense, and get involved in a shooting, odds are you will be sued, either by the person you’ve shot, or their surviving family members. You should also assume that, no matter how clear cut a case of self-defense it was, that you will be put in handcuffs at the scene, arrested, and treated by the authorities like a criminal.”
Not in Texas.
Judged by 12 or carried by 6.
Thank you skiddles!
Amen to that. Some parts of the country you just don’t want to live in, any act of defense will get you jail time.
The writer is probably from the North East, and has little knowledge of Free America.
And so he called 9-11 to make sure they would know who did it??
And we ABSOLUTELY KNOW there was a battle.
And where did the guys who did the voice printing and saying it was Tray screaming...despite the fact that they had no comparable print of either party. Those guys should go to jail.
Why didn’t Trayvon call 911?
Good question!!!
“no matter how clear cut a case of self-defense it was, that you will be put in handcuffs at the scene, arrested, and treated by the authorities like a criminal.”
I would not call Zimmerman’s case a “clear cut case of self-defense.” It’s only “clear cut” is you take his word on everything, which the criminal justice system will not do in the case where there is someone who’s dead.
Freedom always has a price. If you love your life and your family's lives and you are committed to defending them, don't hesitate just because the police are going to put you in handcuffs or your adversary's family might sue you.
Do your duty and don't whine.
It is my understanding that some states provide immunity from civil lawsuits in cases involving justified self defense shootings.
Super good question
It’s pretty hard not to take his word...he’s on the phone with 9-11, got smashed up from the fight. This is hardly someone looking to shoot someone.
That was how the media and the race-hustlers originally protrayed the case. From reading comments about the shooting in many different papers and on-line forums, I'd say a great percentage of Black people and libs still believe that narrative: Zimmerman saw an innocent black kid walking through his neighborhood and simply ran up to him and shot him down in cold blood. These people don't want to believe any other narrative. Even when confronted with facts. The "black kid gets shot down in cold blood by an evil white guy" narrative fits their image of how they see the Black experience. They don't want to be bothered with truth and reality.
Nor in Michigan.
.and speed dial your atty to meet you there! What?! You carry a gun and DON'T have a knowledgable criminal defense atty on your speed dial?! Get with it! Take an atty to lunch and put on retainer....... Might be the best money ever spent. If you can't afford one, I foresee a lot of people illegally ( but justifiably) carrying "drop guns" in the post railroading Zimmerman fiasco.
Not in PA either. Got Castle Doctrine last year.
Or Maryland.
I see comments above about not in my state. Don’t think that it can’t happen. Anyone who is involved in a shooting should be prepared for anything. The first rule should be to not try to defend yourself to the responding officers. It is not their job to determine your guilt or innocence.
Just show them the victim and the gun and GET A LAWYER before saying anything. There is a druggist sitting in prison here in Oklahoma that although I believe that is guilty after seeing the evidence, made his case much harder to defend by talking to the police without a lawyer. I also believe that in his mind he thought what he did was justified.
If he just shot some guy dead, you would not expect him to try to color his story to his favor?
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