Martin made bad choiceYour July 16 editorial, "Honoring Trayvon," was a joke. The editors wrote that, Trayvon Martin could have walked home in peace "if George Zimmerman had not assumed, based on the teen's appearance, that he was an intruder who was up to no good, and if Zimmerman had not been armed with a concealed weapon."
That is a load of baloney.
Martin would be alive today if he had gone straight home after being challenged by Zimmerman. Martin had four minutes to make that decision. Instead, he chose to attack Zimmerman and ended up dead. Martin died because of his own bad choice.
All the politically correct babble criticizing Zimmerman as spewed by the Herald-Leader and the mainstream media does nothing more than divide people.
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Ted Smith
Park Hills
Leave guns to police
Whatever one may think or feel about the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, one thing seems obvious: the folly of people walking around with handguns thinking they need them for defense. I've heard people say that with practice at target ranges they have become good shots. I've even heard one friend boast he was a better shot than many police officers.
But having an accurate aim is probably the smallest part of what an experienced police officer brings to a volatile situation such as the encounter between Trayvon Martin and Zimmerman. An experienced officer has years of knowing how to assess a dangerous situation. An officer, suspicious of the actions of someone at night, would not let themselves get into a dangerous situation. And an experienced police office would not let an innocent person believe his life was so in danger he needed to attack.
Zimmerman was told by the 911 dispatcher not to follow Martin and as a neighborhood watch volunteer he should have waited for the police. Unfortunately, armed with a handgun, Zimmerman felt emboldened to confront Martin. The end result is that an innocent boy died. Arming ourselves with guns provides an illusion of safety. Let's leave law enforcement to the professionals.
Peter Hardy
Lexington
Case is about race
The George Zimmerman case was about many things. It was about a gun law. It was about poor judgment. It is about race. And it was about a family's struggle to see a justice of truth for their son.
Trying to break down the details of that fight that night is irrelevant. This was about Zimmerman's decision to become something other than the position to which he was assigned. He was a neighborhood watchman, not an investigator.
When you investigate with a gun and have a hostile mind-set, nothing good can happen.
Florida's law is stand your ground. But when you instigate, you become a catalyst.
Barry Young
Lexington
Media at fault
The reason there is chaos in the country is the fault of the media choosing to broadcast the trial.
It should have been treated like any other case. CNN's left-winger, straight-faced Wolf Blitzer, and Fox News' right-winger, Sean Hannity, knew what they were doing.
Divide and conquer is their game. Get the people fighting amongst themselves while our deceptive government puts the screws to us a little more.
When are people going to wake up? It's time to stop believing and start questioning. We have that right. Don't we?
Bill Boccalatte
Versailles
Zimmerman had no right
The results from the Zimmerman trial are very upsetting. After being told by local police to quit following Trayvon Martin, he discarded the instructions and confronted Martin because he didn't recognize him. Who in any neighborhood knows everyone there?
This whole episode was brought on by Zimmerman and that did not give him the right to take the life of an unarmed person who was walking through the neighborhood looking around. Who wouldn't be looking around when someone begins following you?
If I were accosted on the street I would definitely fight back. Having a concealed-carry permit gives no one the right to put another person into a position where you can take his life with no repercussions. All avenues should be examined to bring Zimmerman to justice.
Estill Smith
Lexington
Proud of LexingtonCongratulations to the citizens of Lexington. Instead of reacting to the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial verdict by rioting, violently demonstrating and spewing forth loud anger-filled comments aimed at groups or persons involved, they elected to meet in a rational discussion of points of view. What a better way to understand each other and try to work together to correct problem areas. Thanks to those level-headed persons who arranged for the event at the Carnegie Center.
Jim Jenkins
Lexington
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