Pow! Pow! I Defend Myself

Even though a jury has spoken, the Martin-Zimmerman case in the United States should not be considered closed. Racism and firearms possession indeed compose an explosive and deadly duo in the country. To deny it and remain passive is tantamount to accepting that innocent people are still being killed in 2013 because of the color of their skin and that “pseudo” self-defense too often justifies the unjustifiable.

The acquittal last Saturday of George Zimmerman, a white man who killed a black man, Trayvon Martin, raises a lot of anger and misunderstanding from all sources, both in the United States and outside its borders. Rallies in 100 cities are predicted on Saturday to demand government protection of civil rights. President Barack Obama has called for calm and reflection.

How indeed can a jury (of six white women) in a country that broke with racial segregation, and moreover the rule of law, reach a verdict that leaves a bitter taste and casts more doubt on American justice?

From the beginning, the case has given rise to furor. On the evening of Feb. 26, 2012, George Zimmerman, self-proclaimed guardian of his neighborhood in Florida, used his weapon and killed young Martin. The 17-year-old was walking slowly in the rain, a hood on his head, a bag of candy and a cell phone in hand. He was not armed. Zimmerman, however, found him suspicious and followed him in his car. Zimmerman does not treat security lightly.

In one year, the 29-year-old man made 46 911 [emergency] calls. On the evening of Feb. 26, even though the police told him not to intervene, he ignored this advice and followed Martin. An altercation occurred on the sidewalk. Zimmerman fired his weapon rather than attempting to flee. Young Martin died. But it was not until April 12 — yes, April 12 — that Zimmerman faced a murder charge.

It’s absurd in our Quebecker and Canadian eyes, but not in those of many Americans in Florida and in 20 other states which have adopted the Stand Your Ground law since 2005. Their Constitution allows our neighbors to possess and carry firearms.

In these states, they have more of a right to use a firearm as soon as they feel threatened. No need to think about a less violent, less fatal alternative. No need to just think about escaping. Just squeeze the trigger. Furthermore, if there is a black man, why hold back? Slip-ups are inevitable.

Such laws create conflict in our neighborhoods and undermine public safety, laments U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder; evidence not yet obvious to the citizens who wished for such laws and to the representatives for whom they voted. Another paradox in the U.S.: We want weapons to defend ourselves, to be safer, but these same weapons are proving to be homicidal tools, enabling killing in schools and allowing the average Joe to proclaim himself a guardian and upholder of the law. Some 10,000 Americans are killed by guns each year — a scourge.

According to Holder, it is time to challenge these laws, which so stupidly expand the field of self-defense. Will Americans have the wisdom to challenge and correct their past choices in order to not simply return to a not-so-glorious time in their history, one where a systematic and shameful discrimination between whites and blacks prevailed? It is truly necessary that they do not shy away as they normally do when it comes to gun control.