In the News

Martin Bashir and Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., discuss why it’s taken so long for law enforcement authorities to investigate the Trayvon Martin shooting, as well as the future of “Stand Your Ground” laws.

 

>>> just hours ago we learned that a florida state attorney is impanelling a grand jury to examine the killing of an unarmed teenage boy which could mean possible criminal charges against the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot him. the justice department is also now investigating why george zimmerman reportedly a serial 911 caller pursued, shot, and kill trayvon martin. despite 911 officials telling him to stand back. zimmerman has claim self-defense under a florida law that allows a person to stand his ground if he believes himself in ill in any event peril. a version of events that the chilling 911 tapes appear to contradict. joining us now, miss moore.

 

>> good afternoon, martin. thank you for having me.

 

>> thank you. there are now two investigations into this terrible incident. and as the days pass, we keep hearing evidence which suggests that this young man did absolutely nothing to provoke the attack. a witness has said today, that she was on the phone with trayvon at the time and he told her that he was being followed. what possible explanation is there for why this young man was shot at.

 

>> marine corp, just let me tell you that these are kind of vigilante laws and arguments are popping up all over the country. and while we really do respect a real genuine right to self-defense, and we certainly respect neighborhood watch programs. i think what we're beginning to see with some of these laws like what we have in wisconsin, and this florida stand your ground law and a castle law where your home is your castle so no matter what, you're able to use deadly force against someone is something that is egregious and grown out of this notion that they are no holds barred with your right to bear arms. i do, i'm very grateful that the justice department and the judges in florida are willing to look at this. we have absolutely got to draw a line in the sand around legitimate neighborhood watch activities and self-defense programs and actual just straight out murder of a young teenager.

 

>> a number of our viewers who twitter seem to be suggesting this is the price that a young black man has to pay. simply by his color, that he must be covered in suspicion because he walks to buy some candy.

 

>> well, martin, i'll tell you. this young teenager from media reports was in a gated community . a community where there weren't many african-american teenagers. so on the one hand, we can understand that mr. zimmerman might have been suspicious. but other reports that have demonstrated that this young man was being pursued and wasn't really doing anything to draw gun fire from mr. zimmerman is extremely suspicious. that's why i think it is extremely important to have law enforcement investigate it.

 

>> even as you speak and you and i have this conversation, the press conference is going on at this very moment with colleagues from the house who are talking about the justice department 's investigation. is it really appropriate for a man who allegedly shot this 17-year-old young man to death, is it appropriate for him still to be at large?

 

>> well, i can tell you that there are different kinds of justice. in the african-american community, you're often presumed to be guilty before you're found to be innocent. i don't want to second-guess what the police department has done and mr. zimmerman 's rights but i can tell you that justice is not the same in every aspect of our neighborhoods and our communities in this country.

 

>> sadly a long way to

 

To view this article online, please click here.