Trayvon's Killer - Salem-News.Com

(WASHINGTON DC) - People across the country are speaking out to stop Congress from granting Trayvon Martin’s killer and other violent offenders a free pass to carry concealed, loaded guns nationwide.

But despite the concerns of the mayors, law enforcement and constituents, the gun lobby and their allies have already jammed this dangerous legislation through the House. And now they’re trying to push it through the Senate.

If this measure becomes law, dangerous people, including sex offenders and domestic abusers, could get a permit in a state with lax standards and your state would have to accept it no matter what.

When it comes to protecting our families and communities, it makes no sense to start a race to the bottom. Washington needs to stop gambling with OUR LIVES, and leave OUR LAWS to states and local law enforcement.

Note from editor: All racist comments will be deleted; I enjoy doing this, so send away and know I will destroy them, just as the human race will eventually defeat racism itself.

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Kevin April 10, 2012 2:38 pm (Pacific time)

In light of the tragic killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin -- and the manufactured hysteria surrounding it -- one thing needs to be stated as clearly and as often as possible: The United States is the least racist and least xenophobic country in the world. Foreigners of every race, ethnicity, and religion know this. Most Americans suspect this. Many black Americans and the entire left deny this, it seems sometimes. Black Africans know this. That is why so many seek to live in the United States. Decades ago, the number of black Africans who had immigrated to the United States had already surpassed the number of black Africans who were forcibly shipped to America as slaves. And members of other races and nationalities know this. Even Muslim and Arab writers have noted that nowhere in the Arab or larger Muslim world does an Arab or any other Muslim have the individual rights, liberty, and dignity that a Muslim living in America has. As for Latinos and Asians, vast numbers of them from El Salvador to Korea regard America as the land of opportunity. And when any of these people come here - from anywhere, speaking any language, looking like a member of any race -- they are accepted as Americans the moment they identify as such. He or she will be regarded as fully American. This is not true elsewhere. A third-generation Turkish-German, whose German is indistinguishable from the German spoken by an indigenous German, will still be regarded by most Germans as a Turk. The same holds true elsewhere in Europe. On the other hand, a first-generation Turkish American, who speaks English with a heavy Turkish accent, but who identifies as American, will be regarded every bit as American as anyone else. As is often the case, a foreigner pointed this out most clearly. On a visit to America in February, The president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, said: "The other day, I was in a small company -- and there were Asians, Koreans, Middle Easterners, some other people. And they had been in America for, like, two, three, four years. And they talk American. They look American. Body language is American. I'm sure they already think American. Go to Korea and become Korean in one or two years' time. Good luck with that. That's what's so special about this country." Xenophobic? It is probably fair to say that most Americans are xenophiles. I met a 40 year-old man who works at a cigar lounge and bar. I commented on all the good-looking women who entered his establishment, and he told me that despite his low salary, that is precisely the reason he works there. They flock to him, he said. "Why?" I asked. "Because of my accent." He was from Russia. The left-wing drumbeat about America as racist is a combination of politics and black memory. The political aspect is this: The Democrats and the left recognize that if blacks cease viewing themselves as victims of racism, the Democratic Party can no longer offer itself as black America's savior. And if only one out of three black Americans ceases to regard to himself as a victim of racism, and votes accordingly, it will be very difficult for Democrats to win any national election. The other issue is black memory. Apparently, most blacks either cannot or refuse to believe that the vast majority of whites are no longer racist. Most Americans were hopeful that the election of a black president -- thereby making America the first white society in history to choose a black leader -- would finally put to rest the myth of a racist America. More than three years later it seems not to have accomplished a thing. I now suspect that if the president, the vice-president, the entire cabinet, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all nine justices on the Supreme Court were black, it would have no impact on blacks who believe America is a racist society -- or on the left-wing depiction of America as racist, in my opinion.

Editor: You make some good points, I don't think however that the US is the least racist country, in fact I know for a fact that is not the case. As for the assimilation process being so easy, that depends on many things. There is, contrary to your point, no agenda at work, any more than you are working an agenda. Racism stinks, it was held in place until very recently, long after other countries had abandoned the practice. You sadly think it is all about left and right and that does limit your thinking, and of course this demonstrates that you are indeed right wing. However you made intelligent points and you were not overly rude and therefore your comment is posted in its entirety, good on that. If those who disagree take this approach, they are at least heard. And finally, just remember that as a white man you don't know what it is like to be anything else, and I am in the same boat as a white guy. This is fine, no problem, but we need to extend our thinking. As a journalist, I am dealing with stories about racism that is like out of 1864 right here in Salem Oregon with the penal system. So there you go, thanks for your comment.

Anonymous April 10, 2012 7:39 am (Pacific time)

This IP# 74.118.195.192 is a clone, and if traced out it will continually re-route on itself.

Editor: Thanks, I shouldn't be surprised.

Anonymous April 9, 2012 8:12 pm (Pacific time)

Hey I know what we could do... Keep Sex offenders murderers and Highly dangerous felons in prison. STOP LETTING THEM OUT and they won't have the ability to obtain a weapon. It makes me sick when you read headlines like " 8 time sex offender caught again" meaning they were let out of jail 8 times...why? BULL SHIT

Anonymous April 9, 2012 5:55 pm (Pacific time)

If I was a "white-hispanic" my son would look just like George Zimmerman! Keep the faith Z, you did nothing wrong! The best thing that ever happened to trayvon was being killed by a non black. This is the only reason his death is being noticed by more than eight or ten family members. He was never going to be a productive member of society. He was not getting an education and would have been unemployable in todays' workforce. He was heading to jail

Editor: This comment only became worse, his IP all you intel guys, is IP 74.118.195.192

Mark April 9, 2012 3:54 pm (Pacific time)

Those who do not currently abide by the law will not be affected by this law one way or the other. A national right to carry, just gives those of us who are law abiding a chance to defend ourselves and our families when we travel out of state. Which state are you referring to that currently issues concealed weapons permits to registered sex offenders or anyone convicted of domestic abuse. That would be news to me!

Anonymous April 7, 2012 6:19 pm (Pacific time)

Ralph have you noticed that those locations with the strickist gun laws have the highest gun crimes? While those with the lawful application of the 2nd Amendment, and many guns all around, have the lowest number of gun crimes? Suffice Ralph, criminals do not care about laws, but they are concerned with preying on armed citizens. Please also note that places like Vermont you do not need a license to carry, and they have some of the lowest crime rates in the world. Places like UTAH allow CHL's on campus, and have for years, and you do not even need one finger to count the number of gun crimes committed by these CHL citizens. Yes I am quite pleased that we have the 2nd Amendment, but what we need are much longer senences for our violent criminals. You agree? Gun sales have been at record highs for over 3 years now, and as per the FBI guncrimes have been going down nationally.

Ralph E. Stone April 7, 2012 8:22 am (Pacific time)

In the aftermath of well-publicized killings, there is a predictable -- albeit well intentioned -- hue and cry for more gun control laws. But regrettably, in the 2008 case of District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court found that Americans have a Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms." This does not mean, however, that federal and state governments can't pass and enforce gun control laws. In fact, many gun control laws have been found to be valid after the Supreme Court decision, but each proposed gun control law is vigorously fought by the National Rifle Association and its nationwide membership. But you can't just blame the NRA as there is an American affection for guns with many citizens embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage. Forgive my cynicism, but the cycle of killings, hand wringing, and mourning will likely continue ad infinitum. But regardless of the long odds, advocates should keep trying to pass more gun control laws. Why? Because it is people with guns that kill the most people.

COLLI April 7, 2012 2:31 am (Pacific time)

It seems that there are still a number of individuals who are simply not willing to wait until the investigation into the Travon Miller killing has been completed before passing judgement. I may be wrong on this but the last I heard, the investigation into this incident was ongoing . . . not complete. This article certainly seems to suggests altering or eliminating a constitutional right and the photo that accompanies the article clearly points a finger at the Travon Martin case. Let's wait until ALL of the facts are in rather than taking part in what could end-up being a knee-jerk reaction.

Anonymous April 6, 2012 7:45 pm (Pacific time)

Great lets take all the guns away from our Citizens but make sure that all the criminals have all the weapons to harass and kill innocent people. And why did DHS just went out and bought millions of bullets? God help us. Liberalism is a mental Disorder

Editor: Pretty down on that Jesus Christ philosophy are you? He was hated then for the same thing, you hopefully don't think your hate is anything new in this world.

Anonymous April 6, 2012 6:43 pm (Pacific time)

This legislation will be voted on, and that's the way the system works. How many recall when the so-called Assault Weapons law sun-setted, and shortly before the gungrabbers were screaming the streets would run red. Nothing has happened, and it's been many years now. Ditto as each state voted and passed their own CHL laws, gun crime is down where people carry, and in those places where city leaders violate the 2nd Amendment, have high gun crime rates. Though I do believe that each state has a right to regulate their CHL criteria, some states could simply abuse that process in the future, so we need some type of national level CHL regulation process. I can go to several states with my CHL, some I cannot. Because it's an election year, it should prove interesting. Of course, the facts are on the side of right thinking people, along with recent court rulings. Too bad Brady people, you are simply solidifying gun owners. And I do not belong to any gun organization outside of our homeowner association, and we all carry, have our own private security patrols (retired police, and military police), and have zero problems with crime. It cost us several hundred dollars extra in dues each month, but we are outside of the city limits, and police coverage is pretty light. Main thing, so far, our loved ones are safe so it's worth the extra expense. If someone in law enforcement told me not to carry a weapon as I walked in my neighborhood, they would be hard pressed to give me a legal reason. Ditto for anyone else in the general public who has a CHL.

333maxwell April 6, 2012 4:19 pm (Pacific time)

I'm just an audio guy.. I make no claims to anything else.

I took the 911 call with the most audio information regarding screams, pulled down some of the louder noises (the actual shot and a few times the woman caller gets a bit loud) so they don't hurt you while listening to the softer noises... Then ran it at a slower speed and pitch corrected it 100 percent true. Anyone with an ear for music can tell not a note has been changed.. Digital affords you this luxury. In the analog days we had to physically slow the tape/medium down and you lose pitch and clarity.

THIS AUDIO IS NOT ENHANCED per sey.. not like enhancing a photo.. the only enhancing has been to adust volume levels so you don’t hurt your ear listening to everything at relative volume levels.

There are a few swirling artifacts in this copy because I had to compres the wav file to a 128 kbps mp3 to fit on my page so you had a player to hear it on.. These artifacts are slight and will not distract.

soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11548279

This exercise is just a way to access the call and hear things you would not of as easily (but every bit of audio information from the original is still there) just listening to the raw recording. Akin to slowing down video without the frame per second limitations.

Anonymous April 6, 2012 2:59 pm (Pacific time)

When you can't debate the facts...just start calling people names. Or point out some misspellings. LOL Winning!

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