Retired police captain kills texter in theater during movie trailer

[spin]

175. It is quite possible that Zimmerman chased Martin and confronted him ...

and flashed his handgun to gain leverage. In that case Martin may have been "standing his ground" and in and fear for his life.

Unfortunately the evidence was not there to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman murdered Martin. Like it or not that is the way our legal system is set up. The jury didn't rule that Zimmerman was innocent by any means.

Florida has set up what is my opinion an excellent system that insures the OVERWHELMING majority of those who they allow to carry concealed are responsible and honest citizens who handle their firearms in a responsible manner. Realistically it is impossible to totally eliminate every individual who will misuse their state granted right to carry a concealed weapon.

The question is if having a "shall issue" concealed weapons program in a state is positive or negative. One way to determine this is to look at the violent firearm crime rate in the state. Surely if "shall issue" concealed carry was a poor idea and over 1,000,000 residents of Florida had a permit to carry, we would see a rise in firearm crime.

Florida firearm violence hits record low; concealed gun permits up

Posted: 01/09/2013
By: Jacob Carpenter, Scripps Howard News Service

NAPLES, FL - In the so-called Gunshine State, home to the most gun permits in the country, firearm violence has fallen to the lowest point on record.

As state and national legislators consider gun control laws in the wake of last month's Connecticut school shooting, Florida finds itself in a gun violence depression. The firearm-involved violent crime rate has dropped 33 percent between 2007 and 2011, while the number of issued concealed weapons permits rose nearly 90 percent during that time, state records show.

Read more: http://www.abc15.com//dpp/news/national/florida-firearm-violence-hits-record-low-concealed-gun-permits-up#ixzz2qPkMgAzf

Of course there are many factors in the violent crime equation and the fact that Florida leads the nation in the number of concealed weapons permits is just one. Still it seems logical that since allowing responsible, honest and trained citizens to legally carry concealed has not led to a dramatic increase in violent crime, the program is overall a success.

As far as Al Gore and the vote in Florida, I personally feel that Al Gore was a weak candidate who lacked the charisma to beat Bush the Younger. Al Gore lost his home state which is highly unusual in a Presidential election. Had he won Tennessee, Florida would have been irrelevant.

I will remind you that Florida went for Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections. That may be due to the fact that he ran against two weak opponents in these races. Obama is definitely the best campaigner that I have watched during my 67 years of life. Had Al Gore had half the charisma that Obama has, he would have won hands down.