Tag Archives: Gun Control

Trayvon Martin: One Year Later

Trayvon Fear Poster

Sadly, today is the anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin, and the parents of Trayvon Martin will hold a hoodie vigil to commemorate the tragic anniversary of their son’s death. One year later, the Stand Your Ground law remains in Florida, and it will likely be in force for the foreseeable future. The Zimmerman trial is set for June, 2013. Oddly enough, the Zimmerman legal defense is no longer using the Stand Your Ground law in his defense. Zimmerman’s lawyers know that they cannot defend their client under that law.

The Trayvon Martin murder is just another sad reminder that black life in America is not valued. Yes, I think he was racially profiled by George Zimmerman and murdered. I am convinced, as well, that if Trayvon Martin were a white male killed under similar circumstances, the Sanford, Florida Police Department would have handled the murder suspect very differently. The Zimmerman case is riddled with the racial dysfunction that plagues this country.

What also must be addressed as part of this country’s racial dysfunction is black on black murder. Everyday, murders occur in the Hood. No, the media does not cover it because it is not considered newsworthy. After all, it’s just black people killing each other, right? All these murders, whether mass or one-on-one are all the more reason for gun control.

Stand Your Ground is law in Florida thanks to the scurrilous influence of the gun lobby and other wealthy advocates. This law only promotes vigilantism which puts all Floridians at a greater risk of gun violence. Those most threatened by this kind of law are black men, and black people in general. After all, the Second Amendment was written in part to appease southern militia whose sole purpose was to control the black slaves.

Rest in peace, Trayvon Martin and condolences to the family once again.

The State of the Union, Stronger

SOTUTogether, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger.

I am frequently inspired by President Obama, and tonight was no exception. I thought Mr. Obama’s State of Union speech was very good overall. It was well-delivered and touched on the policy issues that are at the forefront some of our country’s most vigorous debates — gun control, immigration reform and sequestration to name a few. The speech was chock full of policy and struck a tone that demonstrates that Mr. Obama is leading in his second term with a greater resolve.

The surprise for many in the speech was the President’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour, and his announcement to bring 34,000 American troops home from Afghanistan this year. Great news after 10 years of war. The President also brought several visionary, forward thinking ideas to the speech, but what I found most interesting about the speech was Mr. Obama’s vision for America’s economic future through innovation. As well, Mr. Obama’s vision for education in America from preschool to post-secondary remains a consistent theme in many of his speeches. The Washington Post highlights five takeaways from the State of the Union speech, and the Los Angeles Times provides a breakdown by topic.

For me, what separates Mr. Obama from so many other leaders in American politics today is his focus, perseverance and willingness to be a pioneer and trendsetter in the face of great obstinacy and resistance from the GOP. His Presidency is progressing toward being truly transformational for the future of the United States. Forward.

STOP Gun Appreciation Day!

Sign the petition to Stop Gun Appreciation Day at Signon.org

Larry Ward, Chairman of Gun Appreciation Day insults me, and probably most black people in America (except Allen West, most likely). Not only is this so-called wack Gun Appreciation Day tasteless and insensitive to victims of gun violence, it is specifically designed to coincide with the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama and the Martin Luther King holiday. The blatant racist and insensitive nature of this abominable day make me want to spit. Join me in signing the petition against it!

With the increase in gun violence in America, I am more and more concerned for the safety of all Americans, but in particular African Americans, the President, other minorities and other targeted groups from these right-wing hatemongers. As you can tell, at this writing I am also quite pissed by Ward’s crack regarding black slaves and gun ownership. For the record, during slavery black people were property (and still are in some cases). It was against the law to teach black people to read nevermind own a gun.

Sign the petition to Stop Gun Appreciation Day at Signon.org

Obama’s Tapper Test

Obama to Tapper

Jake Tapper’s, ABC News, set-up question to President Obama wreaks of right-wing chicanery. As soon as I heard his question, I wondered how many bills did Jake receive in order to ask it during this White House Press briefing? I imagined that the proposal  to Tapper went something like, “Ask Obama a question that makes it appear that he is both negligent and responsible for gun violence in America instead of the NRA”. Of course, Mr. Obama, as usual, deftly replied to Tapper. The Tapper question was just another example of the “Washington Spin Press”.

My question to Tapper, is where were your questions regarding gun violence two massacres ago…three, and why didn’t you direct them toward the NRA?  I read through some of the online commentary regarding this portion of the Q&A, and the comments were virulently hateful of Obama. I feel sorry for these people who make all these ugly comments online. These online commenters are symptomatic of a debased culture that’s contributing to people who think they should shoot and kill innocent people. Bottom line, the NRA is the organization with blood on its hands.

Politico reports that Rush Limbaugh gave Tapper kudos for his so-called “zinger” question. Now you know if Limbaugh liked it, then something is very foul. The Politico article characterizes Obama’s response to Tapper as testy. Read my blog post entitled, “Governing While Black” to understand why I think this noteworthy. All I can say regarding Obama’s carriage in response to Tapper, “you’re daggone skippy”. Translation: Obama’s response was appropriate.

See the video clip at the following link: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/jake-tapper-questions-president-obama-gun-control-18016735

L. Jackson / 12.19.2012