Bill Cosby Says Guns to Blame For Trayvon Martin Murder, Not Racism

April 17th, 2012 - By Victoria Uwumarogie

Source: gallery-directory-stars.blogspot.com

The legendary comedian made several appearances on television last week, including stopping to do “Press Pass” (an extension of “Meet the Press”) with David Gregory, and also sat down for an interview with CNN. For both interviews, he talked about his thoughts on the murder of Trayvon Martin, among other things, and let it be known that the real problem in this situation is gun violence in general, not racism and racial profiling.

While on “Press Pass,” this is what he had to say on the topic:

“It’s about the gun. It’s about this gun. Guns in this country…When you have a gun, you may not realize it, but you put it on your person and you mean to pull this and kill somebody. That’s what you mean to do…You provoke with a gun. You have this power. You have this thing on you. It heightens what you’re supposed to be looking for.

You’re going to profile anyway, if you’re going to profile. But if you have this, it provokes a feeling.”

And when he sat down with CNN, he let it be known that he feels a gun in the wrong hands is what is responsible for this young man’s death, and calling Zimmerman a racist doesn’t change anything.

“When a person has a gun, sometimes their mind clicks that this thing will win arguments and straighten people out. In the wrong hands and the wrong mind, it’s death…What is solved by saying, ‘He’s a racist. That’s why he shot the boy.’ What solves that?”

And while he’s not trying to take away anyone’s rights to have a licensed firearm, he believes those who want to own guns need to be trained beforehand on how to use them and be “checked” out. Clearly, not everyone is capable of handling one and being responsible with said firearm.

“You’ve got to protect yourself in your own home, but I also believe that when you tell me that you’re going to protect the neighborhood that I live in, I don’t want you to have a gun,” Cosby said. “I want you to be able to see something, report it and get out of the way.”

After Cosby shared his comments earlier last week, some folks weren’t feeling them. They felt saying the race equation needed to be taken out of the picture was irresponsible, especially since a lot of evidence seems to point to the fact that Martin’s race was why Zimmerman found him to be suspicious. Writer and television personality, Touré, who says Bill Cosby is “rather misguided about the black community,” went on MSNBC recently and said that Cosby’s comments were very dangerous.

“Trayvon Martin was clearly profiled as a criminal black man…that’s why he [George Zimmerman] pulled his gun and used it on Trayvon. When a person of Bill Cosby’s stature comes out publicly and says it’s not a race issue, it’s a gun issue, it gives fuel to all those who misunderstand the situation…And he’s giving fuel to those people to say, “See look, even Bill Cosby agrees with us.”

But Cosby might have a point. Of course, racism is still an issue in this case, but I think we all know guns, both illegal and legal, are doing more harm than good these days, making them a huge problem as well.  And Cosby knows the effects of gun violence, as his son, Ennis, was shot and killed while trying to change his tire in a robbery attempt in 1997. Guns make the weakest people brave, as was the case with Zimmerman. He thought he was going to be able to handle the situation, despite the dispatcher saying NOT to follow Martin, but if he hadn’t had the gun, how would this incident really have turned out?

Do you agree with Cosby or do you agree with Touré in saying that Mr. Cosby has it backwards? Check out clips from their performances below:

Cosby on “Press Pass.” Fast forward to around the 11:30 mark:

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On CNN:

Touré on MSNBC:

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  • Lalatarea

    it shouldn’t be abt racism? u do realize that is the reason he was killed?

  • Maryline

     I agree with Bill. We are coming to an age where racist people have no concept of slavery ad what sparked racism. Things need to change. maybe we should stop looking at things as being racist,and being just against human rights. The upcoming generation doesn’t know know slavery, and they might hear more about retribution, and might feel like black people feel entitled for “no rThe Trayvon Martin case was the perfect opportunity for the black community to take on without mentioning racism. Forget about Zimmerman! The police did not do what they were supposed to do period, and this was the perfect ground for the black community to jump on. Not racism, but the fact that police did not do their job regardless of the race. now the supporter of Zimmerman have a legitimate ground: he will not get a fair trial because of the media coverage and the hype. And even if he is condemn, it would not have changed the minds of people who supported him and thought he didn’t get a fair trial. maybe in order to get equality for black people we need to approach things as human right issues instead of black issues. Again the upcoming generation does not understand racism and the struggle of black people. But reach out to them as a human being and they might relate. Let THEM be the first to mention race.

    • FromUR2UB

      Wasn’t that what his parents had tried to do all along?  They were simply seeking justice for their son.  But George Zimmerman’s 911 tapes exposed his racist rationale.  He had prejudged TM as suspicious, he used the blanket statement that “they always get away”, and it’s  what made him pursue him.  So, ignoring the elephant in the room doesn’t mean it’s not there, nor does that make it go away. 

      Whites may be tired of being reminded that most of them make decisions about people based upon race, but they’re not doing anything to stop it.  Our children should never be allowed to forget slavery nor racism, because other races continue to teach their children that they should despise ours.  Our children need to understand what it is WHEN they’re confronted with it, that they’re not inherently deserving of that treatment.  But most importantly, so that they don’t fall into the trap of repeating the past.

  • Smacks_hoes

    He’s completely right. This case shouldn’t be about racism, it’s about a young man being murderered. The facts of the matter is that zimmeran murdered someone and he should be put in jail.

  • IllyPhilly

    If guns kill people then pencils make mistakes. 

  • Guest

    Mr. Cosby is looking at this tragedy in a different way and I respect that he is able to bring attention to a problem that exists but gets overlooked in the United States (that being gun control). As far as racism in America, it is what it is…
    I respect his opinion

  • Guest

    SEEELLLL OOOOUUUUTTTTT!!!!!!! His Family Channel only plays old White family series. I don’t see Thea, Moesha, etc.   SELLLLLLLLL OOOOUUUUTTTTTT!!!!!!

    • Mls2698

      I used to wonder how much shucking and jiving he had to do over the years to think that way.

  • Amija James

    I wish Bill hadn’t said anything.  This case is all about racism.  If Trayvon was a white boy he would not have been killed.  If Trayvon was a white boy weighing 140 lbs, Zimmerman wouldn’t think that saying Trayvon was beating him up would be plausible.  BUT, because Trayvon was a black male, he had that super negro strength that so many black men have that scares white men and forces them to defend themselves and that’s why Zimmerman felt he could shoot this unarmed BOY and get away with it.  So Bill, no disrespect, but please hush.  

  • Olivia

    I’m going to give Bill a pass because he also lost a son to senseless, random gun violence and he is probably still hurting.  This is what he is probably basing his comments on.

    He probably feels if gun laws were stronger his own son would be alive today…

    He’s only human so I get where he’s coming from.

  • RedButterfly81

    Guns don’t kill people, guns falling into the wrong hands kill people.

  • 30thoughts

    I agree with Toure. While it is clear that other problems such as gun violence played a role in the killing of Trayvon Martin, he should not discount racism as a factor altogether because at the end of the day, it appears that Zimmerman was legally entitled to have a gun, but in order for any type of justice to be served, it would need to be proven that Zimmerman did not act in self-defense, but rather that he initiated the confrontation.  If racism and racial profiling isn’t at issue, Zimmerman will probably go free because this would suggest he was acting out of genuine fear for his life, and that simply would not be justice. Having someone like Bill Cosby say that it’s not about race, is damaging.  It was about gun violence, but it WAS also about race. Cosby brings up an issue that has little to do with how this case will be decided. Guns aren’t going anywhere.

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