Race-baiters and hate-mongers attack over Zimmerman Second Amendment Fund

by Dean Rieck

You know what they say: no good deed goes unpunished.

And, once again, that's the case for our effort to help George Zimmerman replace his firearm after the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the Sanford, Florida police department to NOT return his personal property.

We considered this a politically-motivated abuse of power. So we asked our supporters to chip in a little money so we could buy him a new firearm, plus holster and other items he may need. We called it the Zimmerman Second Amendment Fund.

But to our surprise, the story went national. While donations began poring in from all over the country, the race-baiters and hate-mongers started their attack. One of the charges leveled against us is that we're racists and are only helping Zimmerman because he's "white." Actually, he self-identifies as Hispanic, but the haters never let facts get in the way.

For those who don't bother doing their research before commenting (which includes pretty much everyone criticizing us), perhaps we should harken back a few years to the case of Damon Wells. As reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Wells "... legally defended himself against two black teens who were on probation for aggravated robbery."

The attackers got convicted, but Mr. Wells couldn't get his gun back. We worked behind the scenes and, months later, authorities finally returned his firearm. Fast forward a few more months and Mr. Wells was riding as a passenger in a car that got pulled over. Police charged him with possession of an "unregistered" handgun even after the Ohio Supreme Court told the City of Cleveland that they could not enforce this sort of gun control law.

We sent our legal council to Cleveland Municipal Court to go to bat for Mr. Wells and have his charges dismissed. You can read the motion we filed here. And you can read about our lawsuit against the City of Cleveland here.

For the next three and a half years, Cleveland played legal games, but eventually we won, Cleveland lost, and Mr. Wells' charges are dismissed.

Oh, did we mention? Mr. Wells is black.

We're sure this won't mean anything to the race-baiters and hate-mongers, but we thought those with a more principled position might be interested in knowing.

Mr. Zimmerman is Hispanic. Mr. Wells is black. And none of that matters to us at all. They are Americans first. And we fight for the Second Amendment rights of anyone and everyone, especially for those who live in Ohio, but sometimes for those in other states when it's a special case.

And while it's not fun to be accused or racism, the hate-mongers have been spitting their most acidic comments at Mr. Zimmerman, a man who has been found not guilty and recently rescued a family from a truck accident. Here's just a little taste of that hate from those who claim to want peace and harmony.

From our Facebook page:
Lloyd Lachow - I pray to Our Lord Jeesus every day that He protect George Zimmerman and keep him safe and whole so that the blessed person who shoots him in his fat, racist face gets a clean kill.

From Huffington Post:
bran0217 - I would like to meet this coward in a ring no guns,And see who walks away standing,

James Adam Carrington - With any luck, the next time he stalks and attempts to kill an unarmed person, that target will take the gun away and use it on GZ. THAT would be justice.

Wanda047 - Maybe the next person in an accident, once looking up and seeing this child Killer George Zimmurderer staring down at him or her, will have a gun on their person, and seeing this murderer looking at them, will blow him away.

Dennisdkl123 - If it had been me he was stocking the dark and rainy night it would have been Zimmerman on the end of stand you ground.

From ThinkProgress:
Neil Amitay - There is no limit to stupidity. I hope Zimmerman feels threatened when they give him the gun and shoots them all.

Patty Chambers - Including himself.

Matthew Tanner - Including their whole families and everyone who comes to the funerals...

Monica Brown - That same gun given to GZ will be his downfall,ppl r out there that is sharp shooters n will not hesitate to waste this big blob.Hope the gun shop furnishing him the gun will pick up the pieces.

Oh, and they don't just want Zimmerman to be killed, they'd like to see that happen to us and our families as well. Here's an excerpt from just one of the emails we've received:

To Whom It May Concern:

It is one thing to support ownership of guns. It's another thing to be insensitive about the death of young boy and to encourage the purchase of a gun to an irresponsible user. I hope that one of your children is shot by mistake and that everyone goes out and buys the killer a gun ...

... Disgusting and despicable and I wish the worst for you deep from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,
Y Jimenez

Well, so much for giving each other a big hug and singing Kumbaya.

Dean Rieck is the Marketing Director of Second Call Defense and a Leader with Buckeye Firearms Association.