MikeD said:I have to agree with Ted on this one.
He went a step further on Tuesday, weighing in for the first time on controversial state-level laws on self-defense.
"Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation's attention, it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods," Holder said.
The comments were a reference to so-called "stand-your-ground" laws, which in Florida and other states allow people to use deadly force if they think their life is being threatened.
The role that law played in the Zimmerman shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is a matter of dispute.
But Holder suggested the laws encourage confrontation, saying there "has always been" a legal defense for using deadly force when retreat is not an option.
"But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely," Holder said. "By allowing -- and perhaps encouraging -- violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety."
He called for a "hard look" at the laws. The crowd applauded as he said "we must stand our ground."
The "stand-your-ground" laws have been a popular target ever since the Martin shooting, and the pressure has intensified after Zimmerman was acquitted on Saturday.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07 ... z2ZFWC9R00
jgwills said::roll:
Since the link was to Fox News one might assume the information is bias, misrepresented etc......... Sadly with Holder its the truth. Certifiable douche.
The media as a whole was so irresponsible throughout this whole trial its a joke.
GunnyGene said:by eliminating the common sense
ripjack13 said:GunnyGene said:by eliminating the common sense
Looks like they are off to a good start.....
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are readying a flurry of bills in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal on charges in last year’s fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.
The lawmakers are drafting proposals intended to rein in racial profiling; scrap state stand-your-ground laws; and promote better training for the nation’s neighborhood watch volunteers, among other anti-violence measures.
CBC members had remained largely silent throughout the trial, but following the verdict, argued forcefully that, decades after the civil rights movement, the nation’s criminal justice system still discriminates against blacks and other minorities.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an icon of the civil rights era, said the decision “seems to justify the stalking and killing of innocent black boys and deny them any avenue of self-defense.”
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), head of the CBC, decried “the presumption of guilt so often associated with people of color.”
A six-member jury on Saturday found Zimmerman, whose father is white and mother is of Peruvian descent, not guilty of killing the African-American Martin last year in a gated community in Sanford, Fla.
Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer who began following Martin and ended up in a physical confrontation with the 17-year-old. During a trial that earned blockbuster ratings on cable television, the two sides fought over who was the aggressor. The jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter after the defense argued he shot Martin while in fear for his life.
A jury member interviewed by CNN said the panel did not believe Zimmerman was motivated by race when he began following Martin, who was wearing a hoodie and was on his way to his father’s house.
But CBC members said they strongly believed that race was a motivating factor in the incident in arguing for the racial profiling law.
“George Zimmerman targeted Trayvon Martin as a potential criminal because Trayvon Martin is black,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told MSNBC Monday.
“Anyone who denies that racism isn’t alive today, particularly in the so-called justice system, is exceedingly delusional,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), who wore a hoodie on the House floor last year in a demonstration.
“This verdict points to the reality that there are far too many walking America’s streets wearing a hoodie, carrying snacks and soft drink, which can result in a ‘death sentence’ particularly if they are young, black and male.”
Leading the legislative charge is Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and a CBC member, who for years has pushed legislation to curtail racial profiling in the nation’s law enforcement agencies.
Conyers’s proposal is still being crafted, but past iterations have barred any law enforcement agent from targeting people based solely on race, gender or religion. It would also mandate race-sensitive training as a condition of receiving federal funding and require the Justice Department to provide Congress with periodic reports detailing discriminatory profiling practices.
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), a CBC member who represents the Sanford neighborhood where Martin was killed, said problems would persist until Congress acts.
“Until we pass meaningful laws against profiling, Americans will continue to be singled out and arrested for driving while black, shopping while black, walking while black and just plain being black,” said Wilson, who’s also working on the racial profiling bill. “My own children, and nearly all of the young men I know, have been stopped by the police at least once, for no apparent reason.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/31155 ... z2ZJ10JBhM
“Anyone who denies that racism isn’t alive today, particularly in the so-called justice system, is exceedingly delusional,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill)
carbinemike said:The department of Justice is looking for the public to provide tips to help build a case against Zimmerman. They even have an email address set up to accept them.
President Obama’s Department of Justice wants Americans’ tips on Trayvon Martin’s civil rights to build its federal case against George Zimmerman, the man acquitted of second-degree murder charges Saturday.
The DOJ is asking that all tips be sent to Sanford.florida@usdoj.gov.
Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told the Orlando Sentinel the federal government is appealing to civil rights groups and community leaders to help build its case.
This whole thing gets more ridiculous by the day. Racism?...the only racist comment I have heard in the whole mess was Trayvon Martin on the phone with his friend referring to Martin as a "crazy ass cracka". Trayvon has the right to get his Skittles and tea and come home safe and sound. Yes he does. Does he have a right to beat on someone? Nope. Doesn't Zimmerman also have a right to not be attacked and to defend himself if he is? Yep. Who broke the law? It was Martin.
GunsSaveLives said:Jesse Jackson Calls for International Investigation on Zimmerman, Asks UN to Step In
Is there any organization that isn’t trying to get involved in the George Zimmerman case?!
Earlier this week we reported on the Department of Justice investigation into George Zimmerman, US Attorney General Eric Holder used the case to weigh in on self defense laws, Congress may launch an investigation into the shooting and now Jesse Jackson is calling on the United Nations to get involved.
Where will it end?!
According to a column published in the Chicago Sun-Times by Jackson (emphasis mine),
Jessie Jackson said:We need a national investigation of the racial context that led to Trayvon Martin’s slaying. Congress must act. And it’s time to call on the United Nations Human Rights Commission for an in-depth investigation of whether the U.S. is upholding its obligations under international human rights laws and treaties. Trayvon Martin’s death demands much more than a jury’s verdict on George Zimmerman. It calls for us to hear the evidence and render a verdict on the racial reality that never had its day in court at the trial.
Zimmerman was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Shouldn’t the investigations and allegations stop there? Also, do we really want the UN getting involved in our criminal justice system at all?
MikeD said:GunsSaveLives said:Jesse Jackson Calls for International Investigation on Zimmerman, Asks UN to Step In
Is there any organization that isn’t trying to get involved in the George Zimmerman case?!
Earlier this week we reported on the Department of Justice investigation into George Zimmerman, US Attorney General Eric Holder used the case to weigh in on self defense laws, Congress may launch an investigation into the shooting and now Jesse Jackson is calling on the United Nations to get involved.
Where will it end?!
According to a column published in the Chicago Sun-Times by Jackson (emphasis mine),
Jessie Jackson said:We need a national investigation of the racial context that led to Trayvon Martin’s slaying. Congress must act. And it’s time to call on the United Nations Human Rights Commission for an in-depth investigation of whether the U.S. is upholding its obligations under international human rights laws and treaties. Trayvon Martin’s death demands much more than a jury’s verdict on George Zimmerman. It calls for us to hear the evidence and render a verdict on the racial reality that never had its day in court at the trial.
Zimmerman was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Shouldn’t the investigations and allegations stop there? Also, do we really want the UN getting involved in our criminal justice system at all?
This is wrong on so many levels; I'm not even sure how to form a civil response. The man just continues to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss
where is a like button when you need it.... or reputation points...John A. said:I don't know, but I have felt all along that he was arrested due to racial stresses.
Charge him and bring him to trial, just so some of the population would calm down.
So everyone would have their day in court.
If he was guilty that he be sentenced, and if he was innocent, than to release him.
There. I said it.
I feel that his charges were racially and even politically motivated. Even the police testified that they had felt pressured to charge him. I just wonder who was doing the pressuring.
I have watched very little of the court proceedings on TV, but I heard the prosecutor asked two different LEO (witnesses) if they thought Zimmerman was racially profiling the young man and was doing his best to try to paint it as a hate killing.
Had this happened prior to Sandy Hook, it wouldn't have been more than a headline on the evening news, but we had just gotten over the shock of that and the mainstream media covered every shooting in the country for a few weeks afterwards and this one had peoples' attention all over the country.
The president made statements, celebrities were posting tweets and directions to zimmermans home, etc. In short, it was a very heated topic for many.
I truly feel for Trayvon Martins' family, and have prayed for them, and I respect them from what little I have heard from them giving statements to the press. I'm not suggesting their son did anything wrong, any more than I am suggesting that Zimmerman did.
I could sit back and speculate a dozen different scenarios all night, but I wasn't there, I know nothing specific about any of it, but God knows what happened that night and is where I get my peace from knowing if there is a punishment to dole out, in the end, whoever was wrong will have to look God right in the eye for it and there is no escaping that.
Wrenches said:Man, I can't believe all this horsesh*t. They're making such a big deal out of a white man killing a black man when it's a clear case of self defense.
Hey, how come I haven't heard anything about a black youth that blew a white baby's brains out? It sure ain't a case of self defense, it's blatant murder. Why so quiet?
You know what? if the blacks want war bring it. I'm tired of their bullsh*t.