Fla. city bans guns for neighborhood watch volunteers

[billh58]

The Florida city where neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin is changing the rules on how civilian patrols can operate to help prevent a recurrence and revive the program's reputation.

The new rules, to be released at a community meeting on Nov. 5 in Sanford, Florida, will state explicitly that residents acting under the authority of neighborhood watch may not carry a firearm or pursue someone they deem suspicious.

"Neighborhood watch was always intended to be a program where you observe what is going on and report it to police. In light of everything that has gone on, that's what we're really going to go back and push. That's what this program is and that's all it is," said Shannon Cordingly, spokeswoman for the Sanford Police Department.

http://news.msn.com/us/fla-city-bans-guns-for-neighborhood-watch-volunteers?GT1=51501

At least something decent came out of Trayvon's needless death at the hands of an NRA-enabled gun nut.

[gopiscrap]

1. about time

[Decaffeinated]

2. Do they clock in in some way?

Or does this cover watchman X going to walmart (armed) and then reacting?

[rdharma]

3. What "authority"?

Neighborhood watch has no "authority" that other citizens don't have.

This is just the Sanford PD chief's attempt to deflect criticism from the way they botched this homicide.

[BainsBane]

5. It's a voluntary program

To volunteer in that program, you need to follow their rules. It won't stop people from roaming the street with guns, but they won't be part of that particular association.

[BainsBane]

4. Excellent

[Hoyt]

6. That'll cut down on some Zimmerman police wannabe types.

[Glaug-Eldare]

7. I hope so, but it seems like a very narrow rule.

For quite a while, I've been fond of the idea of requiring those who wish to carry legally in public to be specifically trained and tested on self-defense law and conflict deescalation before they're licensed. I'm sure that would set off a chorus of "BUT MY RIGHTS" elsewhere, and there's always the potential for abuse of regulatory authority, but I think we're a smart enough nation to create a fair, objective standard that upholds public safety and civil rights. Who knows? A course like this could open a lot of eyes that don't even realize that "Stand Your Ground" doesn't quite mean what they'd like it to mean.