Mayor Michael Bloomberg says guns laws like those in Florida can “inspire dangerous vigilantism and protect those who act recklessly.”
He didn’t offer a direct comment on the jury verdict acquitting George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
But he criticized what he called “shoot first” laws, saying they are drafted by gun lobby extremists and let people “shoot first and argue ‘justifiable homicide’ later.”
He says all the facts in the shooting will “probably never be known” but that he and other civic leaders would continue working to eliminate these kinds of laws.
Bloomberg says “the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed child attempting to walk home from the store, will continue to drive our efforts.”
(AP)
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The jury’s opinion is that it was a matter of traditional self-defense, about which Florida and New York have the same law. Florida’s “stand your ground” wasn’t a factor.