Al Sharpton opens fool mouth and inserts foot
Media darling Al Sharpton is back in the spotlight and attacking laws designed to protect victims and proven to reduce violent crime. All but a tiny minority is ignoring him.
Sharpton's disappointment at George Zimmerman's acquittal led him to crusade in the capital of Florida on March 10th for the repeal of a Florida law that is credited by many for reducing violent crime by 42%. Florida's Statute 776, also known as the "Stand Your Ground Law", empowers victims of violent crime to fight back and grants immunity from prosecution and litigation to victims who defend themselves from violent criminals.
Even the choice of "victims" is foolish.
Al Sharpton managed to coax the celebrity parents of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black man who was shot dead by a white man, into supporting his doomed crusade against Stand Your Ground laws. The irony is that George Zimmerman, the man who shot Martin in self-defense, never invoked the Stand Your Ground Law to receive the immunity from prosecution it provides, but would have been justified in doing so because Martin was trying to murder him. He was allowed to go home the night defended himself.
The Sanford police department refused to arrest Zimmerman. The Sheriff refused to charge Zimmerman with a crime. Because Al Sharpton opened his fool mouth in 2012 and demanded a trial, Florida State Attorney Angela Corey (shown here in a painting by Zimmerman) moved forward with a trial without bothering to convene a grand jury to receive an indictment. A grand jury, like the Stand Your Ground Law, is designed to protect citizens from malicious prosecution. George Zimmerman was subjected to an unnecessary murder trial at great expense to the people of Florida and to Zimmerman himself. Zimmerman was acquitted at trial.
The law works as intended.
Even Sharpton can see that Zimmerman's exoneration proves that the Stand Your Ground Law works, but that will not stop him from opening his fool mouth. He also enlisted the parents of Jordan Davis, another 17-year-old black male who was shot dead by a white man named Micheal Dunn.
“I’m not here to accuse Michael Dunn of hiding behind the stand your ground law,” said Lucia McBath, mother of Jordan Davis. “I’m here to accuse that law of giving him something to hide behind." It should be noted that Micheal Dunn was never afforded the immunity from prosecution that comes from the Stand Your Ground law. Also notable is the fact that he was convicted on three counts of attempted murder on February 16th--more than three weeks before Lucia McBath opened her fool mouth.
Stand Your Ground Laws do not protect criminals.
The same special prosecutor who put George Zimmerman on trial also put Marissa Alexander on trial for attempting to murder her husband. Florida State Attorney Angela Corey managed to convict Alexander of aggravated assault after Alexander left her home, retrieved her gun from her car and then returned to the house to shoot her husband, but missed.
This conviction came even after Alexander attempted to invoke the immunity provided by Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, but was denied by the judge in the case. The sentence of 20 years is the result of mandatory sentencing guidelines provided in Florida Statute 775 also known as "10-20-Life". Because Alexander fired a weapon during the commission of a crime in Florida, the sentence is automatically 20 years.
Many claim that Marissa Alexander fired a "warning shot into the ceiling", but that is absolutely not the case. Additionally, Alexander was not defending herself from a violent attack.
Listen to this radio interview for more details on why Alexander was denied immunity under Florida Statute 776. Angela Corey explains the details in the case and describes scenarios where the law would apply to protect a victim.
Lies, damned lies and statistics
According to Lucia McBath, Floridians are three times more likely to defend themselves from violent criminals since the enactment of Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, but she twists her words to make it sound like a bad thing. “This is the state where stand your ground began,” McBath said. “Justified homicides have risen by 200 percent."
According to Politifact.com, McBath's claim is true. "Deaths due to self-defense" have risen by 200 percent. The message to violent criminals is clear: The citizens of Florida are not afraid to protect themselves.
More lies
CBS reported that Deaths Nearly Triple Since “Stand Your Ground” Enacted. Contrary to the alarmist title of this article, murder rates have dropped significantly since the law was enacted and overall death rates have remained constant.
According to the article, Florida averaged 12 “justifiable homicide” deaths a year from 2000-2004 (true) and after “Stand your Ground” was passed in 2005, the number of “justifiable” deaths has almost tripled to an average of 35 a year (true), an increase of 283% from 2005-2010 (false). A shift from 12 to 35 is an increase of 183%.
Only the death rate for violent criminals has tripled. When taken as an overall aggregate of the 22 states that have adopted Stand Your Ground Laws, that increase is 53%.
Damned lies
Al Sharpton is no stranger to twisted facts and outright lies when it comes to furthering his racially-motivated political agenda. In 1987, Al Sharpton opened his fool mouth to demand a special prosecutor in the Tawana Brawley case. Just like in the Trayvon Martin case, Sharpton was dissatisfied with the fairness that the case received.
Instead of allowing Tawana Brawley to be interviewed by the special prosecutor that he requested, Sharpton told the media that Brawley had identified an assistant district attorney and a police officer as her attackers and demanded his arrest during a press conference. These were outright lies and were proven to be false along with everything else Sharpton told the press.
Sharpton can no longer be taken seriously and many in the media have openly identified him as a "race baiter". His need to perpetuate racism and hatred fuels his fool mouth and the controversy he creates keeps him in the media instead of being ignored completely.
Once it is understood that he is a liar and an instigator, it is everyone's responsibility to ignore him and everything he says. It would be easier if the media would stop covering his antics and poisoning the airwaves with his lies.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
People in every state have the right to defend themselves. Self-defense is granted to every citizen who fears bodily harm. The Stand Your Ground Law simply protects genuine victims of all races from criminal prosecution and civil litigation despite Al Sharpton's lies.
People like Al Sharpton are ignored not just because they have no credibility, but because they are attempting to undermine a system that works for political gain. His protect-the-criminal campaign is doomed because it--like the rest of his attacks on white people--relies on imaginary racism.
