For the most part, water pistols look nothing like firearms. I very much doubt that you'd be in danger of being treated as an armed threat when holding a transparent, green, plastic gun that's leaking water.
I dunno. Phones, canes, sunglasses, sandwiches, just hands have been mistaken for guns, with deadly consequences. Perhaps someone doesn't see the object itself, but the way it is being held, or even just reached for.
Especially if the "assassination" attempt involved in the game requires getting into environments you shouldn't be, getting close to someone in an unusual way, I could see this ending in tears even if the water pistol was never visible.
In NYC its a crime to brandish a toy gun that looks like a real one. That's why all the water pistols are florescent green and orange. It's also a crime to paint a real gun to look like a toy.
Being illegal in NYC is like being known to the state of California for causing birth defects and other reproductive harm. It doesn't actually tell you anything about the matter in question.
You are reading into this too much. This is a case of Dead Men Can't Speak. Rather than leave evidence of a crime, opportunity cost of murder is getting off scot-free. The media turned it into primetime theater, but it was never about race. It is about stand your ground and ultimately how the dead can't defend themselves in court.
This is true. The prosecutor should have observed that Stand Your Ground applied to Trayvon Martin who has reasonable belief that he was being pursued by someone intending to do him harm. Martin was not afforded equal protection under the law.
No. Martin is dead. The prosecutor could not bring any affirmative defense for Trayvon Martin because he was not there to argue Stand Your Ground. Hence the statement "dead men can't speak". The prosecutor could and did bring circumstantial evidence, but ultimately Zimmerman could claim stand your ground and successfully argue it.
Whatever else you are applying to the situation is entirely in your mind and does not apply to facts of the case.
yes, Martin is dead and was unable to assert his rights. It then fell to the prosecutor to do so in his stead and he neglected to perform that duty. This is how a grown man was able to pursue a teenager to his home in contravention of the orders from the 911 dispatcher and kill him in the resulting physical confrontation without legal consequences.
Soooo if you cannot assert your rights you cannot stand your ground. What happens when you have two people claiming stand your ground?
Dead men can’t speak. Stand your ground is an affirmative defense. Or in other words, when in Florida carry a big stick and don’t be afraid to use it.
Honest question, are you saying the prosecution should have ignored years of case law and argued on purely circumstantial evidence? (Because Martin’s girlfriend was a baaaaaaaad witness. Like beyond bad. Like I would have been ashamed to have her as my star witness. Why would the one person who could hear the struggle of the fight have an attitude, on the stand, towards the prosecutor fighting for her bf?!?!!)
Zimmerman was following him home and Martin had a reasonable belief that he was in danger. Zimmerman was told by the police over the phone to remain in his car and he left his car and pursued Martin as Martin was walking home in a place he had every right to be. Whatever legal protection Zimmerman enjoyed for for being there did not extend to violating the instructions of the police and following a teenager to his home.
Especially if the "assassination" attempt involved in the game requires getting into environments you shouldn't be, getting close to someone in an unusual way, I could see this ending in tears even if the water pistol was never visible.
http://www.caralevine.com/this-is-not-a-gun-1 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53d691ede4b0326a80e05...