There is something very, very wrong in Florida.

George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the murder and the manslaughter of Trayvon Martin tonight.  In two words, the six women on the jury not only absolved Zimmerman of any culpability in Martin’s death and told him it’s OK – No! – It’s good for him to run around with a loaded gun in his pants because there’s nothing else there that would matter to anyone, ready to snuff the life out of whoever he thinks is one of those “assholes” who always get away with things.  

How?  How?  How?  How could anyone look at the facts of this case and say that Zimmerman was in any way – in any way – justified in his actions?  How could anyone listen to his defense attorneys call the pavement a “weapon” take anything else they said seriously?

I remember watching the coverage last year as it happened.  It was clear to me immediately that Zimmerman was the poster child for why we need stronger gun safety laws.  Note I said “gun safety” rather than “gun control.”  We need to protect ourselves from the George Zimmermans of the world.  We need more safety from guns.  If we don’t demand it, we’re all in jeopardy.  I doubt I would have made it onto the jury if I were a Floridian, because I would have told both sets of attorneys the same thing.

During the ensuing year and more I have watched progress of the case and I’ve been struck by the differences between the experiences of young black Americans and my own.  I never knew about the warnings black parents give their sons about how to act with police and others to keep themselves safe.  When I was growing up, my parents told me over and over again that the police were my first resort when I was in trouble.  I had a lite version of the black experience when I was a teen and realized that the police routinely distrust boys of that age no matter what color they are.  It was a shock to me because even at that age I was the epitome of a “good boy” rule follower.  I never worried about being shot while reaching for my wallet, but I remember the cold air of suspicion I found whenever I had to deal with one.  I can only imagine it’s multiple times worse when you fear for your life, too.

And now a jury has told a sad little man that it was OK that he took it upon himself to hunt down and kill a kid.  Sure the kid may have been a little gangsta.  That’s not illegal.  It’s not even dangerous.  And he may have just been wearing a hoodie, the gangsta part being provided by Zimmerman’s miserable little paranoid brain.  Where does that leave us?

I can tell you where it leaves me:  Much less a supporter of the Second Amendment than I was a year and a half ago.  George Zimmerman is the worst example of the license that amendment gives Americans – a pathetic guy who wants to be Clint Eastwood telling some scumbag to make his day before he blows the guy’s head off.  He’s not a hunter.  He’s not a responsible gun owner.  He’s a travesty.  He’s the nightmare of anyone who understands what the right to bear arms actually means.

I’m going to bed tonight sad for the Martin family, for Florida, for America and for the Constitution.  I go to bed tonight waiting and worrying for the next life that George Zimmerman will take.