Rob Horowitz: Some Good Emerges from Senseless Trayvon Martin Tragedy

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

As a parent, I can think of nothing more horrendous than losing my child. It is my worst fear and dread. For the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, this grief was made sharper by a system that initially failed their son. On Feb. 26, just a short month ago, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman claimed self defense, even though all Trayvon had in his hands was an ice tea and a bag of candy. He remains a free man, despite the fact that legal experts say there is enough evidence on the 911 tape to establish probable cause.

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The senseless death of an innocent teenager and the seeming inaction and bungling by local law enforcement prompted national outrage -- a response that is in large measure responsible for the appropriate actions now being taken. As of two days ago, over 1.5 million people had signed the petition on change.org calling for Mr. Zimmerman’s arrest. Thousands of people joined Reverend Al Sharpton at a peaceful demonstration in Sanford.

A broad cross-section of prominent elected officials of both parties, including President Barack Obama and Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, have now called for an investigation to get to the bottom of this tragedy. They stand in contrast to the very few who have chosen to use this for political gain. The worst of these offenders is Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich who attempted to exploit any lingering racial divisions on the eve of the Louisiana primary by launching a racially tinged attack on President Obama’s comments.

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Yet the overwhelming outrage and concern by Americans across all divides has demonstrated that we have indeed made some progress on the question of race in the past 20 years or so. The constructive reaction of the overwhelming majority is beginning to yield positive results. State and federal investigations are underway and a grand jury will be convened.

Further, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has announced that there will be a review of the so-called "Stand Your Ground Law" which provides broad protections for self-defense claims not only in one’s home, but in public places. This law, which has also been adopted in 21 other states, has been consistently opposed by law enforcement officers who believe it can cause needless deaths and injuries by encouraging people to use guns and other weapons when there are better and safer ways to respond.

The widespread adoption of Stand your Ground laws is a result of an aggressive campaign by the National Rifle Association(N.R.A). The Trayvon Martin tragedy is forcing a needed and overdue reassessment of the impact of the laws and whether they need to be revised.

It has been said many times - no one can bring Trayvon back. But given the strong grassroots reaction to this awful tragedy and the NOW appropriate response of government at the state and national level, it appears that at least some good will come out of this senseless tragedy.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.
 

 

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