Illinois: Phelps files to override Quinn's amendatory veto of concealed carry bill.

[BainsBane]

68. One by one

How nice you get to travel. I'm glad you didn't go down just for the trial. That would have been creepy.

What counts for legal conviction is not the same as evidence for an argument on a discussion board. I do not have the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt because I do not hold a man's life in the balance. I already stipulated that for legal purposes a tie goes to the defense. Even if Zimmerman is acquitted it does not mean he was morally justified and it doesn't mean Trayvon isn't dead. Zimmerman killed him.

I'm not going to debate the points of the trial. That is being done in Florida. I do find it disturbing you go out of your way to justify the killing of an unarmed boy. I find it horrifying actually.

Again, Hispanic is not a race. It is a classification of linguistic origin (Hispania, meaning Spain, Spanish). Hispanics are comprised of many races. Whatever you call Zimmerman racially, he was not African-American. One does not need to be "white" to be racist toward African-Americans. Listening to Zimmerman's father, it's clear the man is a full-blown racist. I have no doubt he passed that down to his son. Even people not raised in hateful homes are conditioned to fear African-American men. Unless you live with many African Americans, you cannot help but have been indoctrinated with that fear. Even then it is still imprinted on us. If you reflect honestly on yourself you know that to be true.

You focus on the law. I focus on what is just. The law has a much greater burden of proof, but that does no mean a killing is morally justified. If someone like Zimmerman had minded his own business, Trayvon would not be dead and Zimmerman would be none the worse for it. Any altercation occurred only because Zimmerman ignored the advice of the 911 operator and followed Trayvon. Your citing that as an appropriate use of a concealed weapon tells me that the policies you promote and what you intend CCW holders to do with those weapons is exceeding dangerous to public safety. If you kill someone, it makes no difference to me if you deal drugs or sell real estate. You're still a killer. Someone who goes looking for trouble is morally culpable, regardless of what the law says.

And how is it that losing a fight is justification to kill someone? People get in fist fights all the time. Only the nut jobs and homicidal killers pull out guns. I used to get in fights with a couple of boys in my grade school (okay, I know you're not surprised). I certainly never pulled out a gun. The fact the boy was six inches taller and 30 lbs heavier than me meant I had my hands full, but it wouldn't have justified my killing him.