Bill Cosby: "We’ve got to get the gun out of the hands of people who are on neighborhood watch"

[kpete]

BILL COSBY ON TRAYVON MARTIN SHOOTING: ‘POWER-OF-THE-GUN MENTALITY’ TO BLAME | Respected comedian Bill Cosby weighed in on the Trayvon Martin shooting in an interview with the Washington Times’ Deborah Simmons. “We’ve got to get the gun out of the hands of people who are supposed to be on neighborhood watch,” said Cosby. “Without a gun, I don’t see Mr. Zimmerman approaching Trayvon by himself. … The power-of-the-gun mentality had him unafraid to confront someone. Even police call for backup in similar situations. When you carry a gun, you mean to harm somebody, kill somebody,” he said.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/07/460195/bill-cosby-on-travyon-martin-shooting-power-of-the-gun-mentality-to-blame/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/7/simmons-bill-cosby-weighs-trayvon-martin-case/

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. k&r

Thanks, Cos. You nailed it.

[seabeyond]

2. i love cosby. i know he has pissed some off

has been a part of division, but as a whole, i really respect this man.

[pasto76]

3. There is no other purpose for which to carry a firearm. Period

When I have a loaded weapon, not in a training exercise, believe me, it is to use lethal force.

There is no such thing as a "warning shot". only a shot that missed.

Mr Cosby hit the nail on the head with this one.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. So, for the last 9 years I've been doing it wrong?

That's so wierd.

[Zax2me]

4. I don't agree.

Because one wannabe cop wannabe hero - who was going to murder someone sooner or later - finally did it?
I'll keep the baby, please, you can toss out the bath water.

[Hoyt]

5. There are plenty more Zimmermans walking around with a gun or two. Cos is right.

[HangOnKids]

7. The Baby Is Dead Dude

You can keep the bath water if you like.

[Schema Thing]

13. because *most* of the cop wannabees out there are perfectly suited to use their guns properly?

This bathwater has been checked, there is no baby - just a bunch of incompetent emotional pussyboys with guns.

[trof]

6. OK, ONE. MORE. TIME...

I belong to a Neighborhood Watch.
And I'm a Block Captain, although I don't like the term.
Our chief of police, who helped us set it up, EMPHASIZED that we were NOT vigilante patrols.
And certainly NOT to go about on armed patrols.

Our purpose is just to raise awareness among our neighbors as to what they can do to NOT be easy targets for theft, etc.
Pretty basic stuff like don't leave cars unlocked in driveways or carports.
Easy pickins for theft.

AND to call a Block Captain to report suspicious activity or call 911 if they see an actual crime-in-progress.

We had a wave of petty thefts over the Thanksgiving holiday and all were from unlocked cars.
In one case from an unlocked car in a garage with the door up.
Got a purse with house keys in it, so now the folks have to have locks changed for the house.
dumb


This is a no-brainer for me, but some neighbors still think we're living back in the 50s when they left the keys in the car and didn't lock doors in the house.

We're in a secluded neighborhood. Only one road in and out.
Now 'drive-through' traffic.

A thinking thief wouldn't come here.
But now we have meth-heads, and crack-heads, and these folks ain't exactly thinkin' straight.

Bottom line, in his so-called capacity as Neighborhood Watch Block Captain, Zimmerman should not have been stalking Trayvon and certainly not armed.

[jwirr]

8. This is very important. Watch volunteers are not trained enough to carry weapons and their job

does not require a weapon. They are the eyes and ears of the neighborhood not the army of the neighborhood.

[aspieextrodinare]

9. Most don't

The problem is, neighborhood watches are largely unregulated. If the person has a concealed carry permit, it is hard to stop them from carrying on a patrol.

[glinda]

11. One neighborhood watch Group on FB has occasional

pro gun political pushes and strong statements from some on their guns as well as some of the people have pictures of their guns on their pages. There have been occasional racist statements or "alluded to". I read because my elderly parents reside in that particular area but some of us have been offended or put off by some of the comments. Might be a bit of truth to Bill's statement.

[Kaleva]

10. Zimmerman was a vigilante and not a neighborhood watchman,IMO

Rather then repeat word for word what I said on this in another post, here is the link to it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002515036