George Zimmerman: The poster boy for gun reform

OPINION - Zimmerman's latest arrest has now re-energized the debate over gun reform...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Sandy Phillips, the mother of Jessica Redfield Ghawi, a victim of the Aurora, Colorado Theater shooting tweeted, “George Zimmerman. You are making our gun reform case for us! Man got away with murder, is an abuser and still has guns! Change is coming.”

Phillips is but one of many gun reformers galvanized by the most recent arrest of George Zimmerman. Across the country, groups are making a case for tighter regulations with Zimmerman as a poster boy.

Debate around the availability of guns and Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law heated up following the death of Trayvon Martin. Many have raised alarms over armed neighborhood watches. There has, however, been little change to the laws. Zimmerman’s latest arrest has now re-energized the debate over gun reform.

On one side, gun advocates argue Zimmerman has the right to possess a gun by law. On the other, reformers like Sandy Phillips argue that Zimmerman represents why existing gun laws are inadequate in keeping weapons out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.

Zimmerman’s defenders and some pro-gun activists argue that he, like everyone else, is entitled to the protections of the Second Amendment. When the Department of Justice put a hold on the return of Zimmerman’s gun pending its civil rights investigation, pro-gun organizations rallied around him.

In fact, the Buckeye Firearms Association, based in Ohio, raised more than $12,000 to provide Zimmerman with money to purchase guns, ammunition, protective gear and a security system. Today, that organization still stands by its decision.

“Why would something that is alleged to have happened many months later have changed the analysis and decision made at the time with the above facts? If someone won a car in a raffle and then is killed in an accident, should whoever gave him the car regret it?” asks Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association in an interview with me last week. Irvine says his organization by no means has second thoughts about providing Zimmerman with more than $12,000 because there’s “no evidence Zimmerman is anything but a guy coming out of a bad situation, put under a microscope and who’s reacting poorly to stress that was out on him unfairly by other people.”

“It’s sad that the media will not allow George Zimmerman to lead normal life and deal with a stress that, luckily, we’ve never had to deal with,” says Irvine. “If I were George Zimmerman, I wouldn’t be speeding. I realize that he’s created some of his issues for himself but what he’s done is not national news for anyone else doing the same thing. I think what the media is doing is sad and pathetic. We don’t go around harassing rape victims that way.”

Since being acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in mid-July,  Zimmerman has garnered media attention for several encounters. Shortly after the acquittal, the pistol he killed Martin along with and  all the evidence presented in the trial was held  because of  the Justice Department’s investigation into the case . There were no laws, however, keeping Zimmerman from purchasing other weapons.

By the end of month, he was pulled over in Forney, Texas for speeding. Zimmerman told officers that he had a gun in his glove compartment. Gun possession is not a violation of Texas law. He was given a warning for speeding and was sent on his way.

In August, he made a highly publicized visit to the Kel-Tec gun manufacturer in Cocoa, Florida to inquire about a 12-round, 12-gauge shotgun. Then, in September, he made news again for a domestic dispute with his wife Shelley, where she alleged that Zimmerman got into a physical altercation with her father and threatened her with a gun in her father’s Florida home where they were staying. Zimmerman denied ever threatening his wife and father-in-law with a weapon. No weapon was found and no charges were filed.

Then, last Monday, Zimmerman was charged with aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief in an incident where his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, says he threatened her with a shotgun and pushed her out of her home. He called a 911 operator while the dispute was still in progress to protest his innocence saying he wanted to tell his side of the story. He denied threatening Scheibe with a gun. The judge in the case, Frederic Schott, set Zimmerman’s bond at $9,000, ordered him to stay away from Scheibe and wear a monitoring device. He was also forbidden from possessing guns, ammunition or travelling out of state.

 

To be clear, George Zimmerman has not been  convicted of any crime or deemed mentally incapable of owning firearms. But isn’t that an incredibly low bar to set for owning a deadly weapon, particularly when we know the risk factors associated with gun violence? Shouldn’t we be having a conversation about whether Zimmerman, and people with backgrounds like his, should own deadly weapons?

There are an estimated 315 million people in the United States and more than 300 million firearms. Gun violence takes more than 30,000 lives each year and injures another 75,000. It is indeed an epidemic. Now, keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t own them is an important first step to reducing violence, but that only includes convicted felons and those deemed mentally defective by a court. What about George Zimmerman?

We need to close the gaps in our laws so that people who seem to be  potentially dangerous do not continually slip through every day. How to close those gaps is a tough question and a matter for national debate. Hopefully, we won’t miss this opportunity like we have so many others.

Follow Donovan X. Ramsey at @iDXR.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE