zappasguitar
Well-known member
Another day...another coward needs a gun to feel brave...
Florida Man Murder His Neighbors Because They Were Mean To Him
There is a tactic used in debates known as the “slippery slope” fallacy in which one side claims that a course of action will inevitably lead to a ridiculous conclusion. For instance: conservatives like to claim that marriage equality will lead to legalized pedophilia and bestiality. The idea is to fearmonger the other side into acquiescence. It’s also used to deflect legitimate criticism by insisting a perfectly reasonable fear is overblown. The NRA and the gun nut lobby has been using this to defend the easily abused “Stand Your Ground” law but, sooner or later, reality comes crashing down:
Attorneys for a man who police said shot three people at the culmination of a neighborhood feud have filed a motion demanding a jury determine whether William T. Woodward’s murder charges should be dismissed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
The motion says Woodward had been the target of a variety of threats and “exercised his right under Florida law to defend himself and his family that night.”
This defense represents an incredibly dangerous evolution and escalation of the idea of “self defense.” Stand Your Ground laws have already distorted self defense to an almost meaningless concept but this new case threatens to unleash a wave of violence that will be difficult to stem. What makes this case so different?
The motion filed by Woodward’s attorneys says in the hours prior to the shooting, all three men were yelling at Woodward and that this type of behavior had been ongoing for over a month.
In the hours before the shooting, the men called him names, and said “Come on boys. We’re going to get him. We’re going to get him, all three of us.”
So a few hours later, Woodward snuck up on the three men and opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon. They didn’t assault him or approach him and they weren’t on his property. He simply decided that he’d had enough and “felt threatened” so he killed two men and tried to kill a third.
If his defense, which cites, of all things, the Bush Doctrine of preemptive attacks, is successful (and we’re talking about Florida here) then “self-defense” will officially be dead as a concept. In its place will be what is essentially a lawless state in which anyone that utters the words “I’ll kick your ass” is now a legal target for murder. After all, how can you tell if they’re serious or not? Better to be safe and nip that threat in the chest with a dozen rounds.
Even if the defense fails, it will only be a matter of time until someone else tries it. Maybe next time, a white man will “preemptively” shoot three n*ggers thugs scary black men and a conveniently white jury will vote their color instead of the rule of law. As it is, Stand Your Ground includes the word “imminent” and with no specific legal definition it can mean a few minutes, a few hours or a few days depending on the case. Once the precedent is set, it becomes easier to murder at will.
You might be tempted to claim that I am, indeed, using the slippery slope argument but ask yourself, honestly, if you would have thought, just 15 years ago, that the idea of chasing and killing a person running away from you or killing two men breaking into a neighbor’s empty house could ever be considered “self defense.”
Just imagine where we’ll be 15 years from now if “standing your ground” continues to be the foundation of our self defense laws. We’ll have to stand our ground before the other guy does or risk being shot for giving someone a nasty look. Welcome back to the Wild Wild West.
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/0...se-they-were-mean-to-him-video/#ixzz2e2fEnKhU
Florida Man Murder His Neighbors Because They Were Mean To Him
There is a tactic used in debates known as the “slippery slope” fallacy in which one side claims that a course of action will inevitably lead to a ridiculous conclusion. For instance: conservatives like to claim that marriage equality will lead to legalized pedophilia and bestiality. The idea is to fearmonger the other side into acquiescence. It’s also used to deflect legitimate criticism by insisting a perfectly reasonable fear is overblown. The NRA and the gun nut lobby has been using this to defend the easily abused “Stand Your Ground” law but, sooner or later, reality comes crashing down:
Attorneys for a man who police said shot three people at the culmination of a neighborhood feud have filed a motion demanding a jury determine whether William T. Woodward’s murder charges should be dismissed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
The motion says Woodward had been the target of a variety of threats and “exercised his right under Florida law to defend himself and his family that night.”
This defense represents an incredibly dangerous evolution and escalation of the idea of “self defense.” Stand Your Ground laws have already distorted self defense to an almost meaningless concept but this new case threatens to unleash a wave of violence that will be difficult to stem. What makes this case so different?
The motion filed by Woodward’s attorneys says in the hours prior to the shooting, all three men were yelling at Woodward and that this type of behavior had been ongoing for over a month.
In the hours before the shooting, the men called him names, and said “Come on boys. We’re going to get him. We’re going to get him, all three of us.”
So a few hours later, Woodward snuck up on the three men and opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon. They didn’t assault him or approach him and they weren’t on his property. He simply decided that he’d had enough and “felt threatened” so he killed two men and tried to kill a third.
If his defense, which cites, of all things, the Bush Doctrine of preemptive attacks, is successful (and we’re talking about Florida here) then “self-defense” will officially be dead as a concept. In its place will be what is essentially a lawless state in which anyone that utters the words “I’ll kick your ass” is now a legal target for murder. After all, how can you tell if they’re serious or not? Better to be safe and nip that threat in the chest with a dozen rounds.
Even if the defense fails, it will only be a matter of time until someone else tries it. Maybe next time, a white man will “preemptively” shoot three n*ggers thugs scary black men and a conveniently white jury will vote their color instead of the rule of law. As it is, Stand Your Ground includes the word “imminent” and with no specific legal definition it can mean a few minutes, a few hours or a few days depending on the case. Once the precedent is set, it becomes easier to murder at will.
You might be tempted to claim that I am, indeed, using the slippery slope argument but ask yourself, honestly, if you would have thought, just 15 years ago, that the idea of chasing and killing a person running away from you or killing two men breaking into a neighbor’s empty house could ever be considered “self defense.”
Just imagine where we’ll be 15 years from now if “standing your ground” continues to be the foundation of our self defense laws. We’ll have to stand our ground before the other guy does or risk being shot for giving someone a nasty look. Welcome back to the Wild Wild West.
Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/0...se-they-were-mean-to-him-video/#ixzz2e2fEnKhU
