Jury finds George Zimmerman not guilty

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

336. This is (among) the problems...

with "Stand Your Ground" and other "Self Defense" laws. They blur the line between the assailant and the victim.

If I understand the reasoning, Zimmerman is allowed to use deadly force if he feels his life is in danger, even if he's the one who instigated to confrontation. Martin was kicking Zimmerman's ass in the fight he himself started, and so Zimmerman fell back on superior firepower.

Interesting....

So I'm robbing a convenience store. I've taken the cash and I'm attempting to leave the premises when the clerk reaches under the counter for a .38 and starts blazing away at me. I return fire because it's either him or me. I kill the clerk.

I can't think of a jurisdiction where I would be charged with aggravated homicide (or whatever the local equivalent would be). But the Zimmerman acquittal seems to say that it doesn't make any difference who did what to whom. As long as my life is in danger, I can kill the other person. I didn't go into the store intending to kill the clerk, and I only fired back because he shot at me first.

So I'm a rapist and the woman I attempted to assault has either a) and gun in her purse or b) a black belt. And now I feel threatened....

We've just opened an interesting can or worms.