I am completely pro 2nd amendment, own multiples long guns and hand guns, as well as a concealed carry license renewed multiple times over on top of all the training I have done. The issue with Zimmerman wasn't his use of self defense, it was justified when looking strictly at the use of the pistol and why. That doesn't mean what he did isn't wrong. He provoked and murdered a young adult, even in self defense. The key there being provoked.

The issue is how he got himself into that altercation and situation in the first place, and anyone who believes otherwise has a severe misunderstanding of self-defense and situational awareness and I would hope doesn't have a license to carry because it will continue to cause things like this happen and overall hurt the responsible gun owning and carrying population. A deadly weapon is a last resort, which he used, but he provoked and put himself in the situation that called for the use of it.

That is one of the first thing you learn in ANY type of firearms and defense training (even beginner classes, fuck even in most martial arts): situation awareness, deescalation and escape, and ultimately your last option, the use of a weapon and force. It's quite sickening to be honest. He was in his car and Martin was a walking civilian. He was essentially armored behind 2 tons of metal and more or less stalking / following Martin with no observable threat of violence or death, much less to his person specifically.

He wasn't protecting his property, Martin wasn't in his house. He put himself in a situation within which, luckily, his state covered his ass with legislation. The situation was 100% avoidable and not threatening even in the slightest where he would have to result to getting into an altercation and possibly end up using his fire-arm but he did anyways.

I'll be the first to say that if me or my wife was ever in that situation I would take the same course of action; however, you can bet your ass I would never put myself or her in that situation willingly when there is a way out or it is entirely avoidable in the first place, as he did. That is a joke. To put a cherry on top, he goes and brags about it on social media? You're going to brag about taking another mans life, even for "self-defense" purposes? How deranged do you have to be to do that? I don't know any responsible gun owner that would be happy to ultimately pull that trigger if they had to, much less take pride in it.