Can Trayvon Martin's Death Alter Our Race and Gun Cultures?

On a number of levels, it makes sense that Florida is the site of the Trayvon Martin tragedy that's riveting the nation. Florida purports to be our new multi-racial, multi-ethnic social model, a showcase of early 21st-century America; yet the case of Martin's fatal February shooting, which emits at least a strong odor of anti-black bias, seems to point up just how lodged in the early-20th century South much of the state can still be. Florida advertises itself as a cheerful, laid-back beach peninsula; yet its residents consistently rank among the country's rudest drivers and gloomiest people, which makes it less surprising that seven years ago the state pioneered the hair-trigger "stand your ground" law that's at the heart of the Martin controversy

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