Why was a person with a violent history legally allowed to own and carry a gun?

[pnwmom]

Zimmerman should never have been allowed to own a gun or get a CC license.

[Just Saying]

1. And he still can!

Imagine if this idiot moved in next door.

[Robb]

2. Because the suffocating zealotry that masquerades as public debate on guns allows it.

[blkmusclmachine]

4. ?

[mzmolly]

5. Because dada has connections?

[pnwmom]

6. I think the problem in FL is bigger than Zimmerman. He's probably not the only

loose cannon who's been legally walking around with a gun.

[mzmolly]

8. Florida - a haven for child murderers

and wife beaters.

[arely staircase]

7. because of freedom and liberty and ron paul for president

[Sparkly]

9. What boggles my mind is -- can he really carry one now?

After murdering an unarmed teenager who was doing nothing wrong?

[protect our future]

11. Unarmed? Trayvon was armed with a sidewalk,

as George Zimmerman's brother just pointed out on CNN.

[HiPointDem]

14. & his brother is every bit as slimy as he is. he made me sick. badmouthed martin as the attacker

& painted his brother as the victim, all in a sickening fake 'reasonable' voice.

i wanted to puke, it was so orwellian.

[rainy]

10. I hope the jury find out about Zimmerman's past

And regret their horrible verdict.

[Skittles]

12. the NRA has ensured that fear and ignorance trumps logic

[HiPointDem]

13. good question.

[Azathoth]

15. Because he didn't have a violent criminal history

He was charged with shoving a plainclothes undercover alcohol officer who was arresting a friend of his for underage drinking. It was immediately dropped to a misdemeanor, which simply wouldn't have happened if he had actually swung on someone he knew to be a cop.

He and his girlfriend took out mutual restraining orders against each other during a breakup. Neither one documented any injuries.

A former employer made an unsubstantiated claim that he once got too rough with a rowdy drunk girl while working as a bouncer at an illegal house party. No documented injuries or charges, or course.

And that's it. No history of convictions for violent crimes, no trail of wounded people in emergency rooms. Just a lot of blog-fueled gossip.

[pnwmom]

16. He got his charge on the police assault lowered by going into an alcohol program.

And after his girlfriend accused him of assault, he accused her of the same thing. I'll say one thing for Z. He knows how to defend himself.

[Azathoth]

17. Wrong

The charge was lowered to a misdemeanor, which allowed him to enter a pretrial diversion program and eventually have it waived. That wouldn't have happened if he had thrown down with someone he knew was a cop.

He and his girlfriend apparently had a fight. She filed, he immediately counterfiled, and both requests for restraining orders were simultaneously granted. No evidence anyone was injured. Not exactly a rare occurrence during a breakup.

[pnwmom]

20. The pretrial diversion program was an alcohol program.

And his girlfriend filed first. Whether or not it is rare, she accused him of a violent act, and he cleverly responded by accusing her of the same thing.

Although, even more so than with Zimmerman, he completely outmatched his GF in size and strength.

[Azathoth]

22. Yes it was an alcohol program, but that's not the point

That's an option for first-time offenders who get hit with misdemeanors. Not people who go around getting charged with felony assault on police officers.

and he cleverly responded by accusing her of the same thing.

lol, or maybe she actually did hit him in the fight. Doubtful his request would have been granted had the police arrived to find her on the floor bleeding with two black eyes and him standing over her wearing boxing gloves.

he completely outmatched his GF in size and strength.

Can't speak to that, I know nothing about her.

[protect our future]

23. "He cleverly responded by accusing her of the same thing"?

Hmmm. So Zimmerman has some experience in accusing another of what he himself is doing. So, clever person that he is, Zimmerman was instantly ready to spew his lies as soon as he murdered Trayvon. He'd been practicing.

Didn't anyone ever ask for Zimmerman to be examined by a psychiatrist?

[pnwmom]

25. I guess this is news to you, but an assault doesn't have to leave black eyes

or any other kind of mark for it to be an assault.

[treestar]

18. Another Florida thing, I suspect

Having a high bar for being too violent to have a gun.

The domestic issue might have barred his having one for a year - I've seen that in Protection from Abuse Orders.

[LittleBlue]

19. Why is anyone allowed to own a gun?

Its primary purpose when it was invented centuries ago was to kill other human beings, and nothing has changed.

If you accept guns, the Zimmerman verdict must also be accepted.

[Nevernose]

21. Because he's a good guy

A regular good ol' boy, dontcha know. And they kept letting him off the hook, again and again and again.

And now some kid's dead and I'll bet you twenty bucks he's already packing again "just in case."

[tiny elvis]

24. because guns are neat

the smart thing for people feeling threatened by the verdict to do is
arm themselves, as the state has demonstrated that might is right
and in florida's chivalric code, the outcome of a fight is god's plan

[AZ Progressive]

26. Just one thing: