law enforcement is a part of everyday life, as are justice and our economic standing. until we realize that all of these things are interconnected we will keep on making the same mistakes. we keep seeing people take one instance, hang their flag on it, and try to make some point. over and over again we've seen people in these forums, in the media and in politics do it. they fail to see or to admit to any larger picture and try to ram through some meaningless agenda that makes no sense in the greater world.
Yep, this very case shows that. Look how many are trying to say that this verdict proves that the laws in Florida are racist... It proves no such thing, it merely proves that a jury found THIS guy innocent.
so she deserves 20 years for shooting a gun in her own house, that hurt no one? - - - Updated - - - Zimmerman called the cops and then went to confront him, sounds pretty similar to me, we would not even be talking about this case if Zimmerman had shot a warning shot off rather then a killing shot .
that would be a shame, because we all know it is far more than that. the problem is one of perception. as long as there are fools out there who try to turn every incident into a platform for their own agenda, as long as the media insists on portraying even the most innocent actions through a sensationalist lens and as long as our political animals put their agendas before the good of the nation we will always be in danger of being described as uncouth barbarians. we have spent a good part of the last century being the big dog on the block and, as such, we are a target for every malcontent, every saber rattling petty tyrant and every envious twit in the world. they would have us believe that all the good that is done by this nation, the charitable nature of our people and the advancement of the species in general simply doesn't exist. this is always the answer from those who only pay lip-service to the concept of freedom. let's put everyone that doesn't agree with us in some gulag so our ideology can exist without anyone to point out its faults. this is authoritarianism at its worst and the left has been showing more and more signs of succumbing to the allure of power. behind all the rhetoric of fairness and compassion lies a beast that just wants to grab a bigger slice of the pie, always at the expense of someone else.
I would agree that SYG laws should be consistently enforced. Also, a mandatory 20 year sentence is ridiculous.
Look, it's YOU PROGRESSIVES/LIBERALS that want severe penalties for gun crimes isn't? Deal with what you support. - - - Updated - - - This WAS NOT a SYG case!
20 years? No. ANd I haven't seen anyone say that 20 years is an appropriate sentence either. Honestly if I were on the jury and I had known that 20 years was the minimum sentence if convicted I would never have voted guilty . But that does NOT mean that the laws are racist, or that juries are racist in Florida. It means the mandatory sentencing laws are (*)(*)(*)(*)ed up. This girl WAS guilty of a crime, the sentence is just too harsh.
Neither was the Zimmerman one. The strange thing is that cases like these affect people's perceptions of the law though.
Liberals are the ones that MANDATED tougher penalties for gun crimes and now they cry about it. - - - Updated - - - I agree, but to start a thread about SYG when the case referenced clearly isn't one is ridiculous. The REAL problem is ignorance. Too many people are ignorant of what they speak of while they try to change policy. It's extremely dangerous.
Zimmerman would be in jail if he shot off a warning shot. Warning shots are illegal. If your going to shoot aim center body mass or don't shoot.
Agreed. It's like how a lot of gun policy is implemented by people who know nothing about guns. - - - Updated - - - That's kind of a stupid rule though.
If they were feeling nice they could've simply arrested her for improper usage of a fire arm. 6 months probation or something like that.
of course not. what she deserved was a good scare to keep her from ever pulling a stunt like that again. what she deserved was a suspended sentence, a few months or some similar slap on the wrist and to have an abusive spouse tossed in jail for disobeying a restraining order. so who is to blame for her sentence, for the draconian concept of mandatory minimums? well you can't lay this one at the feet of the right or the left or even of the political animals whose purpose in life seems to be to make our lives ever more complicated and difficult. this one belongs entirely to the fear of the population in general. for too long we've considered ourselves too civilized to have to deal with our own safety. we demand that authority shoulder the burden of keeping us secure, an impossible task for any but the most intrusive government. we demand laws to keep us from harm, seldom realizing that laws will only keep a small portion of the population from committing crime. laws can only punish after the fact and that does little good to those who must die before the state is willing to rouse itself.
I would hardly call this a gun crime and this liberal believes everyone has a right to bear arms, many seem to think it's a privilege that can be revoked at will (both republicans and democrats) no democrat I know would agree that this women deserved 20 years for shooting a warning shot in her own house when the person she is trying to scare off has a restraining order not to be there in the first place .
The last time you were free, alas, was under King George. You are brainwashed grovellers who believe that if you can shoot those you see as 'black' you must at least be superior to someone.
So the represented a threat but she left the home got the gun and came back. He no longer represents a threat she does. It no way shape of form is this self defense.
The most important part. She LEFT and came BACK ARMED. The stupidity of the OP's statement just falls apart when the facts are brought to light.
All i am getting is... It was her home! ( no (*)(*)(*)(*)) and He had a RO! ( No (*)(*)(*)(*)). They dont know crap about the case at all. All they want to do is link it to the Zimmerman case and show some kind of double standard aka scream about race. I dont think anyone here thinks she should have gotten 20 years!
Some people are just stupid. This woman didn't stand her ground, she in fact LEFT and then came back. He was such a threat to her that she was able to leave? And then she CHOSE to come back with a gun? Honestly, that is crossing the line into premeditation in my mind.
It WAS a gun crime! She committed a crime with a weapon! DUH!!!!!! She endangered everyone around her. There was NO reason to even do it. All she needed to do was call the police and report the violation of the order. THAT'S IT! It's OBVIOUS her life was not in danger if she was able to leave then come back. Is 20 years too much? I'd say yes, but be careful what you wish for. You can't wish for mandatory minimums then get upset when one of your own gets that. It was the charge that was given that carried that sentence. Could they have charged her with something less? I'm sure they could have, but go ask Angela Corey why she didn't while your also asking her why she maliciously prosecuted George Zimmerman.
Honestly , after reading more about the case I don't know man. The fact of her leaving then coming back with a gun reads like she planned to go get a gun and come back and take a shot at him, which is a far more serious crime than if she just in the heat of the moment of being scared grabbed a gun. Maybe not 20 years, but she deserved more than a slap on the wrist ...
ah yes, let's all grovel before the might of those who rule by divine right. better yet, let's allow the masses to run rough shod over the few. in between those is a fine line that is never easy to tread. it is that line we have been trying to keep to for over two hundred years. all in all we've done quite well. of course the malcontents, losers and rabble-rousers will always claim the contrary. they will point to the natural tendencies of our species and claim those faults are particular to this nation, but their accusations are laughable. they will claim to have all the answers, but those answers demand slavery. of course they will claim it to be in our own best interest, but this is only because they themselves lack the small amount of virtue that is required to control their own basest instincts. while some of us would like to see our species move forward to truly deserve our liberty, they would have us chained to a past that forces us to act morally at gunpoint.
