Photograph by Paul Sancya/AP Photo - Theodore Wafer appears at his arraignment in 20th District Court in Deaborn Heights, Michigan, on Nov. 15
Another racially charged shooting, this time in Detroit, has restarted the debate about American gun culture.
You’ll remember all too well the antecedent in Florida involving Trayvon Martin, the unarmed African American in a hoodie who was killed on his way home from the store by George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman with a pistol on his hip. The Detroit case concerns Renisha McBride, an unarmed 19-year-old black woman shot and killed by a white homeowner in the middle of the night under circumstances that are still murky.
McBride’s violent death is certain to command national attention. Murder charges against the homeowner, announced on Friday, elicited praise from some black community leaders. Four blunt points to consider as the debate unfolds:
1. We don’t know what happened before McBride’s killing, and it matters.
2. Once again, race matters.
3. Some liberals will capitalize on McBride’s death with dubious calls for gun control.
4. Acknowledging the Second Amendment does not excuse gun owners from being careful.
The second item in that list hasn't been established, nor is there mention of McBride's intoxication at the time of the incident. But at least the author realizes that gun control freaks never let an event like this go unexploited.
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