Antigun Sentiment has Eroded our Second Amendment

While laws support the right of Self-Defense with ‘Stand Your Ground’ and the ‘Castle Doctrine,’ liberal DA’s work hard to file criminal manslaughter charges, even for murder when the facts indicate the defendant was acting reasonably and in self-defense.

‘Reasonable’ use of force in self-defense or defense of a another, or even property, determines a DA’s decision when charging for manslaughter. However, when two people are involved in violence during a criminal act, biochemistry comes into play. Adrenal glands pumping, perception of time altering, reaction, judgment–all are effected in some way, which makes it impossible to judge.

When a firearm is involved, the DA knows that even with a lesser felony, the defendant pleading out with involuntary manslaughter, that is one in the win column, one more citizen barred from possessing a firearm.

Many of you will scoff when anyone supports Officer Chauvin. Even pundit Sean Hannity claims he was negligent. But Hannity isn’t the most educated man in the world. But when the law says if a person comes at you swinging a deadly tree branch or a knife, the DA can charge you with manslaughter when all you had was a gun? Life isn’t fair. There aren’t tree branches handed out to make it fair, and everyone knows you don’t bring a knife to what ends up a gun fight. https://alphanews.org/derek-chauvin-hires-new-attorney-plans-to-ask-for-convictions-to-be-overturned/

Albuquerque has become nationally famous with two cases, an Uber driver shooting a drunk passenger who threatened to steal his car and kill him and an actor, Alec Baldwin, who was handed a prop gun the armorer loaded with a live bullet that killed the director. [No, armchair analysts. Even if Baldwin had ‘checked’ the gun, there was no way for him to tell if the bullet was real, or just a theatrical round.]

Something has to change in DA offices. Self Defense, even protection of property and others, is becoming an endangered ‘species’ in itself. We all know DA Alvin Bragg, the Soros supported radical who went after Donald Trump. He is now raking over an ex-Marine who stepped up to take down a crazed, drug-addled subway passenger who was threatening passengers. Like the George Floyd case, there was no physical evidence the choke hold asphyxiated Neely, the deceased. And, like Floyd, he was a felon who was ill and on drugs. https://www.newsmax.com/us/daniel-perry-subway-death/2024/12/09/id/1190923/

In the Officer Chauvin case, the Kenosha Medical Examiner and EMT’s presented clear and convincing evidence that Chauvin’s hold did no harm or injury to George Floyd, who died under EMT care. EMT observed heart failure due to pleural effusion (fluid pressure around the heart), the autopsy showing both the effusion and pleural edema (I can’t breathe) were caused by overdose levels of Fentanyl.

Both Neely and Floyd were drug-addled and ill which significantly contributed to their criminal acts and cause of death. So, one could say that Attacking a Sick, Drug Addict Criminal is the moral equivalent to punching a guy wearing glasses.

In the George Zimmerman case, the Sanford County city manager reported that CSI examination of the crime scene supported Zimmerman’s testimony, the bloody injuries to the back of his head indicating Trayvon Martin straddling his body and bashing his skull into the pavement.¹ [His report and letter to the community is linked in my Zimmerman-Martin blog.] Later, burglary tools in Trayvon’s high school locker supported Zimmerman’s suspicion, that he was a likely suspect for recent robberies of condo residents.

A radical lawyer, Benjamin Crump, decried the self-defense decision and threatened Sanford, Florida with Federal Civil Rights investigations that would bankrupt the county. A trial ensued resulting in Zimmerman cleared, but it ruined his life. It was at this time that Patricia Cullors, another Marxist radical, started Black Lives Matter.

Soon after the Trayvon Martin case, the radical left Federal Civil Rights card was played again by Crump, resulting in more deceitful testimony and the City of Ferguson destroyed by race riots. Here is the Wikipedia account:

On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson. Wilson, a white male Ferguson police officer, said that an altercation ensued when Brown attacked him in his police vehicle for control of Wilson’s service pistol.

Blood spatter evidence in the police car proved in court that Brown was not shot with his hands up, begging Officer Wilson not to shoot, but reaching in Wilson’s police car struggling for his service pistol.

Today, we are still waiting on the NYC jury to decide another Alvin Bragg case; this one against a Marine veteran, Dennis Penny, who stood up to a violent passenger threatening other passengers, Penny as a trained Marine using a choke hold (keep in mind that Officer Chauvin’s ‘knee to neck’ did not choke Floyd) to subdue a homeless black man who was determined later, by the Medical Examiner, to have been high on drugs. In fact, a forensic specialist witnessed, from the NY Medical Examiner’s own report, that Neely’s death was caused by a number of factors, including “sickle cell crisis, the schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and the synthetic marijuana.” Struggle and Restraint were contributing factors, but the struggle, Neely’s own actions injuring himself, were his response to the reasonable self-defense and defense of others by Penny.

In the Penny-Neely case, the official autopsy showed death caused by heart failure, not asphyxiation. The blood tests showed high levels of K2, a synthetic cannabinoid (THC) that lacks the anti-psychotic compounds found in natural marijuana. The K2 levels alone would drive a normal person insane, but Neely was also on meds for his schizophrenia.

Neely had enough drugs in his system to drive him crazy(er) and along with his struggling, requiring more pressure in the choke hold. In the George Floyd case, the 11ng/mL overdose levels of Fentanyl and heart disease were, even without Chauvin’s restraint, the cause of death.

Yet, again, in both cases, the prosecution and witnesses tend to rely on visual appearances from video instead of scientific proof. Here, as reported by msn.com, the NY Medical Examiner insisted the blame was on Penny:

Dr. Cynthia Harris, who performed the autopsy, said video of the fatal encounter convincingly showed the chokehold was his cause of death — that she wouldn’t change her ruling even if it turned out Neely had enough drugs in his body “to put down an elephant.”

So, in both cases, evidence is ignored in favor of appearances, the public official seeming to intentionally agitate racism in the prosecution of a white man in defense of a black, drug addled criminal.

This also happened in the cases against Officers Chauvin and Wilson. And let’s not forget a father and son, both veterans, and a neighbor convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery, a felon previously convicted of larceny and gun possession crimes, was reported trespassing on an absent neighbor’s construction site. He was caught on video running, the police called and after minutes of being followed,  Arbery turned, attacking the son, trying to take away his shotgun.

The Satilla Shores Facebook page reported numerous cases of burglary, and strange vehicles cruising, ‘casing’ the neighborhood. The entire neighborhood, isolated by industrial highways and Interstate cloverleafs, was under stress.

Three men, lives ruined, trying to protect their neighbors against a criminal, known violent felon resisting arrest.

Meanwhile, Here in New Mexico—

There are two cases currently being tried in New Mexico. One is an Albuquerque Uber driver killing a violent, drunk passenger. That has been going on since 2019, just winning an appeal in the NM Supreme Court reducing charges from Murder to Voluntary Manslaughter. In another more recent case, a college student remains in jail for over a year awaiting trial. He was attending a Native American protest against a conquistador statute when he was videoed being chased and detained, violently, by three men.  The second time be broke free of the men’s attempted headlock and tackles he stopped running away, turned, and fired one shot, injuring one of the men. The man was not killed, but Ryan Martinez has been kept in jail, no bail, for over a year now.

New Mexico Law makes it Almost Impossible to Avoid Manslaughter Charges

In New Mexico, the ‘duty to retreat’ is not mandatory, but you are permitted to Stand Your Ground. However, in this case as with others, your defense must be ‘proportional.’ If a man comes at you with a rock or a tree branch, a New Mexico DA will be able to charge you with manslaughter for defending yourself with a gun; even though a rock or tree branch can be more deadly, more foot-lbs of force, than a 45 caliber bullet—and they don’t jam or misfire.

It was the DA’s opinion that escaping two times from three men chasing you, manhandling you with ill intent, did not warrant firing your pistol once! In the Uber driver case, he was not only threatened with physical harm (that I itself not a justified use of a firearm) but his property attacked, so use of a weapon was justified. New Mexico UJI 14-5180, defense of one‘s property, states that a person may use force that he deems reasonable and necessary to defend his or her property. Yet, while not in jail, he has been fighting prosecution for five years.

More recently, last week, a South Valley resident, Elias Garza, plead guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter after a woman (a drug addict?) broke into his home and attacked him. The gun went off during a struggle, Garcia trying to stop her from leaving while he stayed on 911. She met all the elements of physically breaking in, not only threatening but attacking the homeowner. This elderly man was protected by the Castle Doctrine, but the gun went off during a struggle. Now, he is on probation and lost his First Amendment Rights.

1. Fellow Citizens:
   There has been a lot of media attention to the recent incident where George
   Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. This is indeed a tragic situation and has caused a flood of questions and strong emotions from within our community, the region and nation. On behalf of the employees of the City of Sanford, Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin. As a father, I can only image the pain Trayvon’s family must be going through. The City of Sanford is committed to insuring that justice is served and, therefore, the City of Sanford has contacted the United States Attorney General’s Office for assistance in this matter.
   In an effort to continue to be as responsive as possible to the public seeking information on the incident, I have asked Chief Lee to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding this matter. Below are his responses. Please understand that since this is still an ongoing investigation, the Police Department is limited in what information it can publicly release.
   The men and women of the Sanford Police Department extend our heartfelt
   sympathies to the Martin family. This is indeed a tragic situation. The death of
   anyone due to violence, especially a 17 year old young man, is morally appalling. As this incident has generated a lot of media attention, we wanted to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
   Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?
   When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr.
   Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law
   enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based on the facts and
   circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when any police officer makes an arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she is making the arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and in bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.
   According to Florida Statute 776.032 :
   776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use
   of force.—
   (1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is
   justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.
   (2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the
   use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the
   person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the
   force that was used was unlawful.
   Why weren’t the 911 tapes initially released?
   There are exemptions to the public records laws for active criminal intelligence and for ongoing investigations. In this instance, the 911 calls made by neighbors in the subdivision, and the non-emergency call made by Mr. Zimmerman are all key to the investigation by Sanford Police Department. In consultation with the Office of the State Attorney, the Sanford police department had decided not to release the audio recordings of the 911 calls due to the ongoing investigation. Many times, specific information is contained in those recordings which is vital to the integrity of the investigation. At the time, it was determined that if revealed, the information may compromise the integrity of the investigation prior to its completion. The 911 tapes have since been released.
   Why did Mr. Zimmerman have a firearm in his possession while acting in the
   role of a neighborhood watch member? Mr. Zimmerman holds a concealed weapon permit issued from the State of Florida.
   He is authorized to carry the weapon in a concealed manner wherever Florida
   Statute dictates. Neighborhood Watch programs are designed for members of a
   neighborhood to be “eyes and ears” for police and to watch out for their neighbors.
   They are not members of the Police Department nor are they vigilantes. Training
   provided by law enforcement agencies to Neighborhood Watch organizations
   stresses non-contact surveillance of suspicious situations and notifying police of
   those situations so that law enforcement can respond and take control of the
   situation.
   Mr. Zimmerman was not acting outside the legal boundaries of Florida Statute by
   carrying his weapon when this incident occurred. He was in fact on a personal
   errand in his vehicle when he observed Mr. Martin in the community and called the Sanford Police Department.
   If Zimmerman was told not to continue to follow Trayvon, can that be
   considered in this investigation?
   Yes it will; however, the telecommunications call taker asked Zimmerman “are you
   following him”. Zimmerman replied, “yes”. The call taker stated “you don’t need to do that”. The call taker’s suggestion is not a lawful order that Mr. Zimmerman would be required to follow. Zimmerman’s statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.
   Why was George Zimmerman labeled as “squeaky clean” when in fact he has
   a prior arrest history?
   In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the
   investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”. We are aware of the background information regarding both individuals involved in this event. We believe Mr. Martin may have misconstrued this information.
   What about media reenactments of the shooting incident?
   Any media reenactments of the shooting incident are purely speculation. To date the Sanford Police Department has not released any rendition of the events of the
   evening to anyone other than the Office of the State Attorney. The renditions we
   have seen are not consistent with the evidence in this case.
   The Sanford Police Department has conducted a complete and fair investigation of this incident. We have provided the results of our investigation to the Office of the State Attorney for their review and consideration for possible criminal prosecution.
   Although the Police Department is the target of the troubling questions, let me
   assure you we too feel the pain of this senseless tragedy that has dramatically
   affected our community. Therefore, as we move forward and strive to answer the
   questions that are a point of controversy in the community, we ask for your patience, understanding and assistance in getting the correct information to the community We trust that this information is helpful to you.
   Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr., ICMA-CM
   City Manager
   March 23, 2012 ↩︎