I've been taking a Facebook and Twitter break for most of the Lenten season, and it's been a good thing. Some of that stuff was just getting me too pissed off, not to mention wasting time that could have been better spent.
But a discussion yesterday motivated me to post this short blog and share it through social media. So, here we go...
We're on Spring Break this week in Cape San Blas, FL. We are having a great time and the weather has been perfect. I had to take the first couple of days off to give a presentation at the actuarial ratemaking conference in Washington, DC, which, even though I had to miss some vacation time, was a great experience.
Anyway, we took a boat tour of the Dead Lake in Wewahitchka yesterday. One of the highlights of the tour was seeing an alligator sunning himself on the bank. My son Will asked the guy driving the boat (Matt) about shooting an alligator. Matt explained how the Florida hunting laws work, tags, lotteries, etc. Will then asked him if you could shoot a gator if he was attacking you. Matt's response was that "you better have some bite marks on you".
This exchange prompted me to check the Florida laws concerning killing alligators ("taking" them, in the language of the statutes).
So here's the deal. If a gator is on your property, you have to call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. Even if the gator is threatening humans or pets, you can't go in your house and get a gun and shoot it. You have to call and wait for the Fish & Wildlife Commission to show up.
So, if Trayvon Martin and Ronald Westbrook had been gators instead of people (at least in FL) George Zimmerman and Joe Hendrix would have been required by law to stay in the safety of their car / home until the police showed up. If they did not, they would have been guilty of a third degree felony and sentenced to years in prison. Unfortunately, people aren't afforded the same protection under Stand Your Ground.
Like I said, you can't make this stuff up!!