Tag: stand your ground

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Celebrities Sports trayvon martin

Kobe Bryant’s Insensitive Remarks on Trayvon Martin Tribute Sparks Online Outrage

Kobe Bryant

Sometimes, some people just don’t get it, and in this case, Kobe is one of those people.

Kobe Bryant was recently asked by The New Yorker magazine to weigh in on a widely publicized Miami Heat photo where the team posed in hoodies to show their support for the late Trayvon Martin and his family.

Bryant’s comments have been interpreted by some as an insult to the reigning NBA champions.

“I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American. That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”

Bryant was quickly pounced on by commentators on social media.

“Kobe could’ve just shouted out love for Trayvon’s parents, said he couldn’t imagine their loss and kept it breezy. He didn’t,” tweeted Grio columnist Goldie Taylor.

“My issue is that Kobe reduces the Trayvon Martin outrage to blind racial solidarity, when it was about so much more than that,” added ESPN commentator Jemele Hill.

Bryant has yet to respond to the backlash towards his remarks.

Miami Heats in hoodies as tribute to Trayvon Martin
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Politics

Michael Dunn’s Sentencing Postponed ‘Till Friday

A judge in Jacksonville is postponing until Friday a decision on whether he will sentence a Florida man convicted of attempted murder during a confrontation over loud music ahead of the 47-year-old software developer’s retrial on first-degree murder.

Jurors deadlocked last month on a first-degree murder charge for Michael Dunn in the shooting of 17-year-old Jordan Davis outside a Jacksonville convenience store. Prosecutors have vowed to retry him on the count.

Dunn’s attorney on Monday asked that sentencing be postponed until after the second trial. Defense attorney Cory Strolla says he is concerned that statements Dunn makes at a sentencing hearing could be used against him in his second trial.

Strolla says he is stepping down as Dunn’s attorney and asked Judge Russell Healey to appoint public defenders.

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Featured

Sicko Gun Dealer Features George Zimmerman at Gun Show

The only reason anyone know about George Zimmerman is because he murdered a kid named Trayvon Martin. Now, Zimmerman is so popular with the gun nuts that he is a featured guest at their gun shows.

The insensitivity here is palpable.  A family is forced to go on without their son, shot down in the streets because Zimmerman had some racially charged misconceptions about the black boy walking in his neighborhood with a hoodie on. Oh yea, Zimmerman also had a gun, so he felt invincible.

Since he followed and murdered Trayvon, the gun loving creeps in Florida have come out in full force to support this killer. This weekend, they invited Zimmerman to be a featured guest at a gun show. But there are still some sensible folks in the state… apparently.

Organizers of the show – a gun dealer called The Arms Room – originally had the gun show featuring Zimmerman scheduled at The Majestic Event Center, but the operators at The Majestic canceled when the learned about the infamous guest.

The Arms Room shopped the event around to other locations with no luck. They ended up canceling the show but then decided to have it at their shop instead, issuing this sick message on their Facebook page:

“The Majestic may have caved, but the sales must go on! Huge sales on Liberty Safes, Arms Room Rifles, Ammunition and Kel-Tec Firearms! Enjoy free food and drinks and you never know who might show up.”

Huge sales, using the man who killed a child as their top salesman. Capitalism at work I guess.

Sickos!

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Featured News Politics

It Gets Worse – Marissa Alexander Could Face 60 Years in Prison

A 33-year-old woman could end up in prison for 60 years when she’s retried for firing a shot in the direction of her estranged husband and two of his children.

Marissa Alexander was convicted in 2012 on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years — three counts served concurrently. An appeals court tossed the conviction, saying the judge made a mistake in shifting the burden to Alexander to prove she acted in self-defense.

Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei told the Florida Times-Union the state is simply following sentencing laws in seeking 60 years. The same court that ordered Alexander’s retrial ruled that when a defendant is convicted of multiple counts from the same crime, judges must make the sentences consecutive.

Critics say it’s outrageous to seek triple the original sentence.

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Featured Gun Control Politics

Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law Allows Blind Killer to Walk Free, With His Guns

Four years ago, he pulled his gun and shot his cousin. Then in March 2012, legally blind John Rogers pulled his gun again and killed his 34-year-old friend, James DeWitt. He stayed a short while in jail while the court went through the motions, but after it was all said and done, Stand Your Ground allowed John to walk free.

Last week, Stand Your Ground required a Seminole County Judge, John Galluzzo to return the murder weapon along with all his other guns to Mr. Rogers. This, according to WESH.

Even though the he said he didn’t want to do it, a judge in Seminole County, Florida, was forced to return a Glock pistol and a rifle to a blind man who won immunity for killing another man under the state’s “stand your ground” law.  The surreal hearing took place in the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford—the city where Trayvon Martin was killed and his shooter set free under the same self-defense statute.

John Wayne Rogers had stood accused of premeditated first degree murder for shooting a “drinking buddy” in March 2012 “after a long drinking session,” according to the Orlando Sentinel. The killing was done “once in the chest with a .308 Remington assault rifle from a distance of 18 inches or less.”

But amid differing eyewitness accounts at his trial last month, a judge dismissed the jury and awarded Rogers immunity under Florida’s “stand your ground” law.

That led to Thursday’s hearing, in which Judge John Galluzo reluctantly admitted he’d have to give Rogers his rifle and a Glock 10 mm handgun. “I have to return property that was taken under the circumstance,” the judge said. “I have researched and haven’t found case law to say otherwise.”

Rogers—who has done probation for firing 15 rounds at a cousin and was jailed for pushing and punching a woman in a domestic disturbance three years ago—will have to buy new ammunition, however, since the state considered his cache “too old and dangerous.”

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Politics trayvon martin

Jordan Davis’ Murder Trial Begins – Michael Dunn Claims ‘Stand Your Ground’ Defense

Jordan Davis
Michael Dunn

The trial of a Florida man accused of shooting a black teenager begins today in a case that has drawn similarities to the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case.

Jordan Davis

Michael Dunn, 47, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder after police said a November 2012 dispute with a group of teenagers outside of a Jacksonville convenience store turned deadly.

Dunn and his fiancée stopped at a convenience store on their way home from a wedding reception and pulled up next to a sport utility vehicle where Jordan Davis, 17, was sitting with friends, according to police.

Authorities said one of the teens complied when Dunn told them to turn down their music, however, Davis told him to turn down the volume again.

Dunn, who had a concealed weapons permit, then allegedly pulled out his handgun and fired several shots into the vehicle, fatally striking Davis in the back and groin.

Police said Dunn told them he feared for his life. Dunn’s attorney said he saw a gun and fired in self defense.

Jury selection for the trial began today.

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Politics

Family of Jordan Davis Settles Civil Case Against Jordan’s Killer – Video

The family of a teenager killed in 2012 after an argument with an older man over loud music at a Florida gas station has settled their civil suit against the shooter for an undisclosed sum.

The Florida Times Union reported Friday that defendant Michael Dunn, a 47-year-old software engineer accepted a civil settlement offer made by the family of Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old student from Marietta, Ga., who had been living in Jacksonville with family at the time he was killed.

Dunn’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 3.

The case carries echoes of the Trayvon Martin affair: both victims were black teenagers shot by older white men claiming fear for their lives. In the Dunn case, however, the defendant appears to be preparing a formal Stand Your Ground legal defense, claiming that Davis and his friends had pointed a weapon at him before he opened fire. No weapon possessed by the teenagers has been recovered by police.

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News

Merissa Alexander Could Be Freed From Prison Soon

Marissa Alexander may be a little more than a week away from getting a taste of freedom.

A judge set Alexander’s bond hearing for November 8, when she will find out if she will be released from prison while she awaits her new trial over an incident in which she fired what she described as a warning shot at her abusive husband.

Alexander attempted to seek immunity under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law in her first hearing, but was denied that opportunity. She was ultimately convicted and given a mandatory 20-year sentence under Florida’s 10-20-life law covering all crimes involving a firearm.

An appeals court judge ordered a new trial last month, not because of the Stand Your Ground ruling in the case, but because the “jury instructions on self-defense were erroneous” in her first trial. Alexander’s new trial date has been set for March 31, 2014, according to the Florida Times-Union.

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ObamaCare Pat Buchanan Politics

Pat Buchanan to The GOP – Fight! If The Party Goes Down, Take the Country Down With You

Pat Buchanan has a message for the House Republicans. If you’re going to go down, go down fighting even if it means taking the country down with you.

In an op-ed, Buchanan referenced the recent polls that showed Republicans taking the blame for the ongoing government shutdown. And he advised Republicans to stand their ground on their pushed to defund or repeal Obamacare, the way Samson in the Bible stood his ground, killing himself and all those around him.

According to Gallup, approval of the Republican Party has sunk 10 points in two weeks to 28 percent, an all-time low. In the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, approval of the GOP has fallen to 24 percent.

In the campaign to persuade America of their Big Lie – that the House Republicans shut down the government – the White House and its media chorus appear to have won this round.

Yet, the truth is the Republicans House has voted three times to keep open and to fund every agency, department and program of the U.S. government, except for Obamacare.

And they voted to kill that monstrosity but once.

Republicans should refuse to raise the white flag and insist on an honorable avenue of retreat.

And if Harry Reid’s Senate demands the GOP end the sequester on federal spending, or be blamed for a debt default, the party should, Samson-like, bring down the roof of the temple on everybody’s head.

This is an honorable battle lost, not a war.

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Politics trayvon martin

Jordan Davis: Another Black Florida Teenager, Shot Dead By White Man Claiming Stand Your Ground

This incident happened in November 2012 when Jordan Davis and his friends were sitting in their car parked in a Jacksonville convenience-store parking lot. Davis was sitting in the back seat of the car and like many teenagers, they were listening to music being played over their car’s stereo.

Michael Dunn

Like George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, a 46 year old white man named Michael Dunn went over to where the teens were parked and told the them to turn their music down. Of course, Mr. Dunn had the option of going about his business without paying any attention to the teens, but he chose to start an argument with the teens. He then took out his gun and shoot 10 rounds into the car, killing Jordan Davis.

Dunn claimed he heard threats coming from the car and saw a shotgun. He said he feared for his life and was only Standing His Ground. He was arrested and charged with first degree murder in Davis’ death, and faces three other counts of attempted first degree murder for shooting into the car.

Police did not find any guns in the victim’s car.

Dunn has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail in a Duval County, Florida, jail.

His trial is scheduled to begin on September 23.

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Music Politics stevie wonder trayvon martin

Stevie Wonder is Boycotting Florida Because of Zimmerman Verdict

While performing in Canada,  Stevie Wonder stated his displeasure in Florida and their Stand Your Ground laws that, although it wasn’t mentioned in the case, was most likely one of the underlining hand that helped George Zimmerman to walk free.

“I decided today that until the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world.

“For those that we have lost in the battle for justice, wherever that fits in any part of the world — we can’t bring them back,” he said. “(What) we can do is we can let our voices be heard. And we can vote in our various countries throughout the world for change and equality for everybody. That’s what I know we can do.”

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Politics trayvon martin

George Zimmerman Will Not Use “Stand Your Ground” Defense… For Now

George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, waived his right Tuesday to seek immunity under Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law before his June trial.

His lawyers have said they may seek immunity later.

Zimmerman, who has pleaded not guilty, is a former neighborhood watch volunteer of white and Hispanic descent who has maintained he shot Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in self-defense after Martin attacked him.

The “stand your ground” law says people do not have to retreat if they believe they are in imminent danger of being killed or badly injured.

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