Readers Outraged by Trayvon Martin Shooting—David Frum

Today in our poll we asked, "Do you think the Trayvon Martin shooting was a tragic accident or a wrongful killing?"

Wrongful killing 81%Florida's "hold your ground law" is a license for vigilante murders 15%Don't know 3%Tragic accident .7%

The Trayvon Martin case arouses passions not only because of its human tragedy, but also because it is a perfect storm of gun rights, race, and Florida's "hold your ground" law.

cassandra: With that kind of law it was inevitable to happen. The law is to protect the gun dealers, producers and of course the profit of the NRA, it has nothing at all to do with the second amendment. No matter how bad a law is, the bottom line, profit , is what makes the law possible.

Many commenters thought Zimmerman's bigotry played a major role; one summed up the idea succinctly:

rob654: If the kid had been white, he'd be alive today.

Readers were also angry that Zimmerman's continued freedom was the result of Florida's self-defense laws.

saladdin: Wrongful death. The stand your ground laws legalize vigilante justice, something that's generally been discouraged for a while, but seems to be taking hold again. There's a reason that we have police departments and not posse's roaming around bringing "justice" to people.