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In Arlington, Jeb Bush says
‘stand your ground’ invalid
in Trayvon Martin case
“This law does not apply to this particular circumstance,” Bush said after an education panel discussion at the University of Texas at Arlington. “Stand your ground means stand your ground. It doesn’t mean chase after somebody who’s turned their back.”
He was referring to last month’s incident in which 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was pursued by the volunteer and fatally shot in a scuffle.
“Anytime an innocent life is taken it’s a tragedy,” Bush said. “You’ve got to let the process work.”
Bush signed the law, pushed for by gun rights advocates, in 2005. It allows Florida residents to use deadly force rather than retreat if they feel threatened, even if they are not at home. Police and prosecutors cited the law in deciding not to charge George Zimmerman, the volunteer.
The Martin case has opened up questions about race and justice. The teenager was walking home from a convenience store Feb. 26, in Sanford, Fla., an Orlando suburb, when Zimmerman followed Martin, after calling police to say he looked suspicious. Zimmerman pulled his gun when the two got into a fight, and Martin was fatally shot.
Martin had no weapon, carrying only a drink and a bag of candy.
Zimmerman said that Martin attacked him as he tried to return to his truck. But supporters of the teen’s family say that would have been wildly out of character and that the case is typical of black youths being harassed and endangered for simply being in an area.
The case has sparked protests and demands for a new investigation. The town’s police chief and a local prosecutor have stepped aside in hopes of defusing tension.
Bush said Friday that he wondered why the investigation has taken so long to reach a conclusion. He said it took several weeks of outrage and media attention for local officials to step up their efforts.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. Bush added that he didn’t want a rush to judgment, but that officials should be mindful that “there are a lot of people who are very concerned about this.”
“You’ve got to let the judicial process work,” he said. “Hopefully it’s done at a pace that is respectful for people hurting.”
Bush also said that he still liked the law. “Applied properly, I support the law,” he said.
The Justice Department and the FBI are investigating the killing as a civil rights matter.
Turning to politics, Bush, a son and brother of former presidents, said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would win the Republican nomination and that freshman Florida Sen. Marco Rubio should be Romney’s running mate.
Romney is “the candidate that can beat President Obama,” Bush said.
He also said that his son, George P. Bush, should one day seek public office. The younger Bush, who lives in Austin, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Texas land commissioner.
“I hope he gets involved,” he said. “I don’t know if he will or not. He’s a special young man.”
>via: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/arlington/headlines/20120323-in...
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Miami Heat Pay Homage
To Trayvon Martin
In today’s sports world, athletes and social activism rarely mix. Michael Jordan set the standard: steer clear of controversy, appeal to everyone, and sell sneakers. (Jordan once refused to endorse the African-American opponent of the late Jesse Helms, who was criticized for race-baiting, in a North Carolina Senate race. “Republicans wear sneakers too,” Jordan famously explained).
Gone are the days when an icon like Muhammad Ali had a conscience as famous at his athletic prowess.
So when players speak out on a social issues, it’s noteworthy. And when the Miami Heat, the team people love to root against, step up, you can’t help but give the Heat credit. If we’re going ridicule the Heat for childishly hamming it up after signing LeBron James, let’s salute the team for taking a stand on behalf of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teenager who was shot to death in Florida by a neighborhood watchman.
Members of the Heat donned hooded sweatshirts – on the day he was killed, Martin’s hoodie aroused suspicion – and posted a tribute picture on Facebook and Twitter. “#WeAreTrayvonMartin #Hoodies #Sterotyped #WeWantJustice,” LeBron James wrote on his Twitter page.
“This situation hit home for me because last Christmas, all my oldest son wanted as a gift was hoodies,” Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press Friday, before the Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich. “So when I heard about this a week ago, I thought of my sons. I’m speaking up because I feel it’s necessary that we get past the stereotype of young, black men and especially with our youth.”
The Trayvon Martin case continues to weigh on the national psyche: it’s caught the attention of the celebrities,the president, and now, the most visible team in sports.
Read other related stories about this:
Read more: http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2012/03/24/miami-heat-pay-homage-to-trayvon-martin/#ixzz1q5YzwhlF
>via: http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2012/03/24/miami-heat-pay-homage-to-trayvo...
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Miami Heat joins
social media campaigns
for Trayvon Martin
Campaigners demanding justice in the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin have been taking to social media, with high-profile names on Twitter and Facebook lending their voices. With tumblrs, websites, Facebook pages and hashtags circulating demanding justice for the 17-year-old Martin, basketball star LeBron James tweeted the photograph above of the Miami Heat team wearing hoodies in solidarity. Martin was shot last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer who evaded arrest by claiming self defense. The teenager was dressed in a hoodie at the time, an item of clothing that has come to symbolize the campaign in his honor.
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Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade posted this photograph of himself in a hoodie on Twitter with the hashtags #hoodies #stereotype and #trayvonmartin:
The calls for justice united under the hashtag #wearetrayvonmartin on Friday, causing it to trend globally on Twitter:
Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson added his voice:
Still no arrest. Where is the justice?#WeAreTrayvonMartin
A tumblr entitled I am Trayvon Martin encourages people to post photographs of themselves “looking suspicious”. Among the many photographs submitted of people wearing hoodies was one which the uploader said showed the action taken by her class at school on Friday:
From : tpmtv
>via: http://storyful.com/stories/23663