Hero or caretaker? The Rittenhouse ruling has sparked a polarized U.S. arms debate by Reuters

(Corrects the third paragraph to clarify that Rittenhouse did not move his weapon from Illinois to Wisconsin)

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Kyle Rittenhouse’s https://www.reuters.com/world/us/jury-rittenhouse-murder-trial-deliberate-fourth-day-2021-11-19 Friday’s acquittal on murder charges opened another front. The long-running struggle for American gun rights: Is it acceptable for a teenager to carry an assault-style rifle in protest?

Conservatives called Rittenhouse a hero for exercising his right to self-defense when he shot two protesters and wounded a third, saying he attacked a racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year.

Proponents of gun control warned that the jury’s verdict could create a new wave of armed surveillance after Rittenhouse traveled from his Illinois home in Illinois to Kenos in August 2020 after police blasted demonstrations following the shooting of a black man Jacob Blake.

Weapons have long been a powerful political problem in the United States, where permissive laws have led to the highest rate of possession of civilian firearms in the world. Mass shootings, which are much rarer in other rich nations, have hit the country for decades.

Rittenhouse, 17, decided to walk the streets of Kenosha in the name of protecting private property from the rebels, which caused a special nerve to carry a weapon to the extent that gun rights had to be extended.

“The tragic events that night in August showed that arming a 17-year-old with an AR-15 does not make anyone safer,” Giffords, the head of the weapons security team, said in a statement. “Today’s verdict sends a disturbing message that will encourage more custodial violence and killings.”

Arms rights organizations and supporters of Rittenhouse celebrated the result as a great victory.

A few minutes after the verdict was handed down, the National Rifle Association posted on Twitter (NYSE 🙂 the language of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: they will be torn. ‘

Brandon Lesco, Kenosha was outside the courtroom shouting “Kyle is released!” signal, he said the verdict was fair.

“Someone has to be there to defend the American people who want to burn people. I respect that he was there, I respect that he carried a weapon, he used it properly, he used it legally. The jury agrees,” Lesco said.

Earlier this week, the trial judge dismissed a criminal charge against Rittenhouse for illegally possessing the rifle he used in the shooting, citing the law’s vagueness.

“IMMEDIATE MESSAGE”

The Liberals denounced Rittenhouse’s acquittal as further evidence of a racially biased criminal system. Rittenhouse, like the men he shot, is white.

“The fact that a white youth can travel across state borders, armed with an assault rifle, and engage in armed confrontation without facing criminal liability that can result in multiple deaths is well known in a country where systemic racism continues to corrupt the system.” Margaret Huang, The president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center said in a statement.

Some legal experts were careful to distinguish between the specific facts of Rittenhouse’s case and the broader message he could send.

Prosecutors had a high level of clarification to convince the jury that Rittenhouse had no reasonable fear at the time he was released for his life, according to former Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Janine Geske. Under state law, he was legally allowed to carry his weapon clearly.

But Gesk said he is worried the trial will teach him a wrong lesson: “When you’re protesting or counter-protesting, it’s okay to bring loaded weapons ‘to protect you.’

The echo of that sentiment was echoed by Karen Bloom and John Huber, Anthony Huber’s parents, one of the men killed by Rittenhouse.

“It sends an unacceptable message that armed civilians can appear in any town, use the risk they create to justify violence and then shoot people in the street,” they said in a statement.