Could be a record for New York City’s nanny-stater-in-chief. It took Mayor Michael (Nothing Is Better for Thee Than Me) Bloomberg 12 hours to release a statement explaining what went wrong in State of Florida v. George Zimmerman that led to Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Politico has the statement:
Sadly, all the facts in this tragic case will probably never be known. But one fact has long been crystal clear: ‘shoot-first’ laws like those in Florida can inspire dangerous vigilantism and protect those who act recklessly with guns. Such laws — drafted by gun lobby extremists in Washington — encourage deadly confrontations by enabling people to shoot first and argue ‘justifiable homicide’ later. [Emphasis added]
Last year, I joined a broad coalition of civic leaders to shine a light on the impact of ‘shoot-first’ laws and work to eliminate them, in Florida and wherever they have been passed. We will continue that work – and the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed child attempting to walk home from the store, will continue to drive our efforts.
Gee, Bloomberg calling someone with an opposing view an “extremist” is a little like the pot calling the kettle African-American.
The phrase “shoot first,” Politico’s Maggie Haberman notes, “is used by critics of Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws, which allows people to use deadly force if they have reason to believe they’re facing bodily injury.” She goes on to note:
In the Zimmerman case, neither the defense nor the prosecution ultimately used ‘Stand Your Ground.’ Zimmerman’s attorneys last year said that would not be their theory of the case, and they presented a conventional self-defense strategy.
