Since America’s founding, there have been conflicts between races.
The recent Trayvon Martin case has sparked another race debate. Was he shot because he was a young black man? Is George Zimmerman a racist? But the debate that really needs to take place is one of guns.
Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer Zimmerman in Florida. After the shooting, police initially did not arrest Zimmerman. Thousands protested and marched in Martin’s honor, pleading for the arrest of Zimmerman and further investigation. Many were furious that this kid was shot and the cops didn’t arrest his killer. Because the young man was black it is expected that America would play the race card, because too often injustice occurs due to race.
Fair enough, but what about the justice card? It does not matter what color the young man was. There is no reason why someone is shot and killed and there is no arrest made while the case is investigated. Recently Zimmerman has been arrested and charged second-degree murder after months of protest.
Martin was shot while walking to his father’s girlfriend’s house in a gated community. He was walking with an iced tea and a pack of skittles. This is not a reason for Zimmerman to react with deadly force costing Martin his life. He was just walking!
As we get frustrated about racial injustice in America, especially in the south, we may forget about the object that was used to kill Martin, a gun.
Recently Bill Cosby discussed the Martin case on CNN. He said America has a gun problem. We have the right to bear arms and protect our families but it has gone too far when people can freely get these weapons legally and illegally and shoot someone because he looks “suspicious.”
We know there is racism in America. Racism is what the country was founded on and we will be working forever to heal the racial wounds of America, but right now we can change gun laws and have greater control on who gets these guns. The job of the neighborhood watchperson is not to go around shooting people at will. A watchperson is supposed to watch and take note of suspicious activity in an area and then notify the police who are trained to handle those issues. Zimmerman also failed horribly at his job.
We can debate race all day but what is that going to solve? We need to change the gun laws. Legislatures are taking a well-deserved second look at the “Stand your ground” law. This law says it is acceptable to use deadly force in cases of self-defense, the defense Zimmerman is using. It is too easy, so why would we say it’s acceptable to shoot someone without penalty simply on the grounds of self-defense? Yes it is true that Zimmerman could have been using self defense after he already pointed Martin out, called him suspicious and went after him, but is that grounds for killing someone? Really Florida? This is the justice we need to be protesting for; this law needs to be changed before more deaths like Martin’s happen.
Race is at the heart of this country’s anger, and true healing from this racial tension is yet to be seen, but we need to examine what we can change right now like gun laws that assisted in the death of Martin.