President Barack Obama on Friday addressed the verdict of George Zimmerman, questioning the wisdom of “Stand Your Ground” laws by presenting a provocative hypothetical — could an armed Trayvon Martin have defended himself on that night in Florida?
“For those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these stand your ground laws, I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk?” Obama asked during a surprise appearance at the White House press briefing room. “And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.”
