
On Tuesday Attorney General Eric Holder called for ending ‘stand your ground’ laws. While he did not name them as such, he did take aim at what they are written to protect, namely law-abiding citizens.
In his statement to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Holder drummed on about “honoring the memory of Trayvon Martin” in a similar manner to Barack Obama. Though neither of these men knew Martin, they act as though they did, but the truth about Trayvon Martin is an ugly reality of a young man that grew up in a broken home, engaged in theft, drug use and thuggery, which ultimately is why his life would end the way it did. Obviously, he was not a model citizen that should be memorialized.
Holder, following in the footstep of his boss, Barack Obama, called for a more aggressive approach to stopping gun violence. “It’s time to strengthen our collective resolve to combat gun violence but also time to combat violence involving or directed toward our children – so we can prevent future tragedies. And we must confront the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs, and unfortunate stereotypes that serve too often as the basis for police action and private judgments.”
He tied it with words like justice and equality, something he obviously knows nothing about, seeing as he is in contempt of Congress for not providing documents requested of them in a gun running operation gone bad, where his Justice Department gave the all clear to traffick nearly 2,500 firearms over the border into Mexico and put in the hands of hardened criminal drug cartels, ultimately resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Mexicans, including a Mexican police chief and beauty queen, and at least two federal agents. Yes, law need to be adhered to, but when it comes to guns and gun violence perhaps it might be best to focus those laws to the Department of Justice and the ATF.
“Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” Holder continued. “These laws try to fix something that was never broken. There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if – and the “if” is important – no safe retreat is available.”
No these laws gave the option of law abiding citizens not having to flee for their lives from those that would do them harm. These laws were put in place as warnings to criminals that if they sought to attack law abiding citizens, that deadly force would be used without first chasing them down the street and in George Zimmerman’s case, he was unable to retreat safely.
Holder also said that we must “examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely. By allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety. The list of resulting tragedies is long and – unfortunately – has victimized too many who are innocent. It is our collective obligation – we must stand our ground – to ensure that our laws reduce violence, and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent.”
The problem is it is not a “duty” for law abiding citizens to retreat from their homes! It’s the duty of criminals to stay out! This man has it completely backwards! Yes, it should end in tragedy for the criminal that seeks to do others harm, but in the end it will be good for society in the elimination of the criminal element.
Finally, Holder said, “We must also seek a dialogue on attitudes about violence and disparities that are too commonly swept under the rug – by honoring the finest traditions established by generations of NAACP leaders and other nonviolent advocates throughout history; and by paying tribute to the young man who lost his life here last year – and so many others whose futures have been cut short in other incidents of gun violence that pass, too often unnoticed, in our streets: by engaging with one another in a way that is at once peaceful, inclusive, respectful – and strong.”
Frankly, I just want to vomit! Pay tribute to a juvenile delinquent? Seriously? Is this where we are in America? How about pay tribute to a man who was looking after his neighbors? How about a man that had the decency to care for his neighborhood and guard against little punks like Trayvon Martin? That’s who should be honored by Mr. Holder and Mr. Obama. Instead, we find them exalting the one that did evil and cursing the man that did well.
I suggest if Holder is serious about curbing attitudes of violence and disparities, he should sit down and address the New Black Panthers Party members who have called for violence. More than likely he has sat down with them but it wasn’t to turn them away from violence. We’ve already seen the Justice Department’s hand in funding and securing the protests to get George Zimmerman arrested.
Are we going to sit by idly while he takes another swipe at the rights of individuals to defend themselves against their oppressors? I certainly am not.
UPDATE: I’ve got something else to point out the absolute hypocrisy of Eric Holder in this matter. ABC News is reporting that George Zimmerman’s parents have been in hiding since their son was acquitted because of death threats. According to Holder, they should remain in hiding for the rest of their lives as long as it is safer for them to do that, rather than deal with those that threaten them. Where is does Holder stand regarding Zimmerman’s parents and the degenerates of our society that would threaten them with death over a verdict that has no bearing on their lives? Oh that’s right, he’s merely considering how to file new charges, federal ones this time, against Zimmerman on something his boss said the “jury had spoken” on. Utter hypocrisy!
Tim Brown is the Editor of Freedom Outpost and a regular contributor to The D.C. Clothesline.