Our Own Worst Enemies

I really didn't want to create a cartoon referencing the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Really I didn't.

When I first read the tragic story of this innocent 17-year-old being gunned down I naturally assumed that it was a cut-and-dried case of another racist idiot with a gun playing out vigilante fantasies and that he'd suffer the full weight of justice before the week was out.

But the days passed and the Florida police did nothing about the crime. They didn't even drug-test the shooter, George Zimmerman, though they drug-tested Mr. Martin's body.

I continued to follow the story and the more I learned about the Florida "Start Some Shit" law the more I realized, with rising horror, that the state had institutionalized murder, with the NRA's blessing, and that Mr. Martin was only its most recent victim.

The law as it stands in Florida, and 14 other states, pretty much allows you to shoot anyone you want if they make even the most minor of threatening gestures towards you. This kind of law is meant to appeal to those with a limited perspective, one that extends no further than their effective firing range. These individuals may take comfort in their metal toys but how long do you think it's going to take before every punk with a cheap handgun learns that they can get away with murder when the tie goes to the last standing? How long before it's your child, your husband, your daughter that gets cornered by a lunatic?

As for Mr. Martin, the Department of Justice has finally stepped in and a grand jury will investigate the slaying. Mr. Zimmerman may soon find himself in court but he's just a symptom of the disease. The killing will go on because the law will not be changed. That's what barbarians do.

=Lefty=