Perpetuated Fears: Brought to You by the NRA

The recent shootings of Bo Morrison of West Bend, WI and of Sanford, FL have certainly sparked all kinds of outrage and are bringing about some much needed conversation. Morrison, 20, and Martin, 17 were both African American boys who were legally shot to death according to state laws.

One factor many are focusing on is race. Were these shootings racially motivated? Were these hate crimes shrouded by right winged laws? Were the shooters innately racist? Most of us will never truly know the answers to these questions. The people who know the shooters, Adam Kind and George Zimmerman, may have a better idea of the men’s true intentions. But right now, all we can do is speculate.

And while we cannot say it is certain that these young men lost their lives due to their skin color, there is no doubt that in our culture, white people are taught to fear black men. These stories would likely be quite different had the race of the victims and the shooters been different. Right or wrong, the media coverage would be non-existent. And what kind of outrage would there be if a black man shot a young white boy? Would the gun toters be just as defensive?

I am not going to write about the race aspect of these cases. We all know that racism exists and has been seeping from the woodwork more and more as extremists are becoming normalized in our communities.

While I cannot positively say that these shooters were racist or acted in a way that displayed their possibly subconscious fear of black men; I can say that our gun laws have gotten out of hand and are aiming in the very opposite direction of where they should be headed.

Since the passing of Concealed Carry in Wisconsin, I have never in my life seen so many people wearing their weapons as some kind of prideful crest. I never imagined people getting outrageously excited and thrilled to be carrying a piece of metal with the ability to purposefully end one’s life. Yes, a car can end lives too, but that is not its sole purpose.

The passing of the Castle Doctrine gives further protections to homeowners who shoot to kill whenever they may “feel” threatened. And how subjective is that?! There are two men. And one is dead. All authorities can do is simply accept the testimony of the shooter stating he felt in harm’s way. Are we just supposed to trust that what these people say is the truth? And where does it stop? Killing a person for breaking into a car perhaps? Is a life equal to an inanimate object? REALLY? I know several people who in their youth did plenty of really stupid things. They now are respectable, responsible fathers, mothers, and mentors. If those things happened today – they could be dead with little questions asked.

. The risks far outweigh the benefits and we need FEWER guns in the hands of people – not more!!

In the case of Trayvon Martin and this ridiculous "Stand Your Ground" law in Florida. Stand your ground, really?? Has it honestly come to that kind of chest beating pissing contest where we have such little value for life that retreating is considered such a bad thing? Whether Zimmerman was a racist or not, he followed that boy. And yeah, perhaps they did scuffle. Maybe Martin was standing HIS ground – but doing so with fists instead of a gun! How would you feel if a man almost double your size was following you holding a weapon? Give me a break!!

There are too many people in this country who are disturbed, drunk, racist, hating, fearful, abusive, angry, violent ... I could go on and on. How can anyone think that adding less-restrictive gun laws to this cocktail of crazy would be beneficial to our society?

Trayvon was armed with nothing more than a bag of Skittles and an Iced Tea. Bo was hiding after being kicked out of a drinking party (I seem to remember plenty of parties ending in this fashion back in the day) and was also unarmed. If Kind and Zimmerman had not been packin’ – two people would still be alive today and all of the people in this subsequent agony would have been spared.

My husband works for the phone company. He works after dark and often has to go into backyards. He has come across some pretty strange people to say the least. What is to stop one of these people (after an evening of throwing back a few brews) from acting out his Mortal Combat avatar and deciding to take a shot at my husband? He can easily say he felt threatened or fearful because of my husband’s disguising, company-mandated hoodie which he does wear over his head in the rain, much like Trayvon.

I suggest you read THIS article and learn exactly why these laws are creeping up all over the country. Learn why fear is being intentionally spread through legislation and our media. It isn’t coincidence and it isn’t an accident. This is purposeful, this is manipulating greed and this is just one part of an absolute takeover by extremist powers that we are allowing to infiltrate every branch of our government.