"Notice that conservatives aren't arguing that Trayvon should've been packing? I wonder why..."

[krispos42]

47. Well, he certainly wouldn't be any worse off.

And with the 911 calls of both men... Martin complaining of being followed and stalked, with Zimmerman simultaneously announcing he was going to confront an interloper in "his" housing complex instead of waiting for the cops, it's pretty clear who was initiating what.

Zimmerman almost certainly would be to blame for any death. Under the Florida stand-you-ground law, you can't claim self-defense if you are the instigator of conflict. The only exception is if Zimmerman started a conflict with Martin, they separated and Zimmerman clearly stated and showed he was done fighting but Martin decided to get a few more licks in.

[div class=excerpt style=background:#AFEEEE]776.012 Use of force in defense of person.—A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or
(2) Under those circumstances permitted pursuant to s. 776.013.

776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.—
(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.
(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful.
(3) The court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection (1).

776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who:
(1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
(2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0776/0776.html

boldface is mine


Since Martin didn't have any weapons, the exception outlined is a) is very unlikely. It is virtually impossible for Martin to have responded to Zimmerman's provocation with such disproportional force that Zimmerman feared for his life.

I'll also note that section a) seems to have placed a burden to retreat on Zimmerman.



The problem seems to be with the police and governmental selective enforcement of these laws. In other words, institutional racism.