Bad . . .

. . . Choice(s) . . .

(http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arizona-shooting-range-instructor-killed-girl-uzi-n189611)
A shooting range instructor in Arizona was accidentally shot and killed by a 9-year-old girl who was learning how to shoot an Uzi, authorities said on Tuesday. Charles Vacca, 39, was teaching the girl how to use the automatic weapon on Monday morning at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range in White Hills, Arizona, when she pulled the trigger and the kickback caused the gun to lurch over her head, investigators said. Vacca was hit by a stray bullet and airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he was pronounced dead late Monday. The girl was at the range with her parents at the time, but their names were not released.  Sam Scarmardo, the manager for the Last Stop's shooting range, told NBC News that "the established practice at most shooting ranges is 8 years old and up with parental supervision." He said Vacca was a "great guy, with a great sense of humor" and called him "very conscientious and very professional." Scarmardo said that the range has never had a similar incident in over a decade of being open — "not even a scratch." "I just ask everybody to pray for Charlie, and pray for the client, she’s going to have a hard time," said Scarmardo. The Arizona Department of Public Safety referred inquiries to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, which didn't return calls for comment.
Ronald Scott, a Phoenix-based firearms safety expert, said most instructors usually have their hands on guns when children are firing high-powered weapons. "You can't give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it," Scott told the Associated Press.

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Two Cents . . .

. . . of mine. . .

The George Zimmerman trial has consumed the American public the past two weeks and certainly for good reason. I may as well weigh-in on it like everybody else because, hey, I'm not above it.  As a matter of fact, no one is. 

First, the obscene quote and knock-knock joke by the prosecution and defense respectively were totally out of order - especially the joke.  On one hand, seeing photos and film of Zimmerman and hearing comments from his parents, I can't help but think that Zimmerman sorely regrets what he has done.  He just appears to be a bit tortured.  (It's just a feeling I get.)  But that doesn't mean that what he did wasn't wrong and that he should not pay some penalty for taking an innocent, human life.  You can't antagonize someone to the point of confrontation then pull out a weapon and kill him in the name of self-defense. That appears to me to be exactly what happened. 

It also seems that by strict letter of the law, in a trial for 2nd degree murder (or manslaughter), one and only one thing has to happen.  The prosecution must prove that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense. And the prosecution must convince the jury that Zimmerman killed for reasons other than self defense beyond a shadow of a doubt.  The defense only needs to place that doubt in the minds of the jurors.  And that is exactly what, I believe, happened in that courtroom.

So I do believe that by the time that George Zimmerman pulled that trigger, he did feel that his life was in danger.  Trayvon Martin was by that point very angry.  Trayvon Martin was provoked.  Trayvon Martin felt that his life was in danger. The trial did not broach anything remotely close these questions.

The trial also failed to address the series of events that occurred prior to that pulling of the trigger that led to that awful, crucial moment.  The trial failed to address how Trayvon Martin must have felt when he finally, and mistakenly, confronted George Zimmerman. Sure, it would have been better to walk away.  But it was not the absolutely-required thing to do.

Finally, if we learn anything at all from the Zimmerman debacle, it is that the contention of the NRA that the more guns we have in society the better off we will be is sheer and utter nonsense. No one should have to fear the prospect of a loaded gun being carried by another human being who is foolishly taking comfort in a law that is cartoonishly named the "Stand Your Ground" law.

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