I hardly know where to begin.
Like so many others I have been following the news about the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old young man who was shot walking home from a convenience store because he was black and happened to be wearing a hooded sweatshirt. His death is senseless and heart breaking on so many levels.
But it would be convenient (if that is the correct word) and an abdication of responsibility if the focus continues to be only on the tragic death of a young black man killed by an overzealous neighborhood watch person with a gun. The very serious question which we need to discuss collectively is between the rights of citizens to own weapons and the right of a young man to walk home safely from the store. Right now the rights of Mr. Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, are being protected. The rights of Trayvon Martin (and how many others?) tragically are not.
Maybe the demonstrations that are taking place need to take place not in Sanford or not in New York City, but on the steps of state houses in Florida and New York and in every other state capital across the country, especially those states which have passed laws which permit any individual, whether they have received training or not or whether they are deemed competent or not, to carry a concealed handgun wherever they go. Not just Mr. Zimmerman, but legislators need to be held accountable for their decisions and their actions.
And, in the end…
Maybe all of us need to be held accountable for our part in allowing something like this to happen.
P.S. If you have not see it. Here is a moving article by the Rev. Jacqueline Lewis, the Sr. Pastor at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City. https://huff.to/GLOuzA
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