A useful discussion of the case by a clinical law professor at Harvard, who explains the law very simply and clearly. His conclusion is not that different from my far briefer one:
The quarrel, I submit, is not with the jury, or with the extrajudicial commentary that preceded the trial. The better quarrel should be with Wisconsin’s gun law. Long-standing self-defense law conspired with absurdly permissive open carry laws to create the set of conditions to make the Rittenhouse affair possible. Perhaps those of us who find the verdict troubling are better served by focusing our attention on state legislatures. I see nothing in the text of the Second Amendment or its doctrinal exegesis that compels states to permit minors to stroll about town with a rifle strapped across their shoulder. It makes no sense, and the unintended consequence of such a legal regime is a Wild Wild West mentality where citizens feel emboldened to engage in private law enforcement.
This is dangerous. The point here is to counsel efficaciousness in dealing with a real problem and to resist ceding the predicate of the debate to ill-motived individuals using this tragedy to advance far right-wing ideals. The joy with which the acquittal was met in some circles is disgusting. Two people are dead—forever gone from their loved ones’ day to day existence. On any read, this situation was tragic, not a cause for celebration.
We should honor the dead by being smart and strategic. Our society cannot and will not survive a polity that permits armed children to walk the streets and kill with impunity. Our moral sensibilities push in a different direction, and we must take action to ensure that our moral sensibilities are adequately reflected in our positive law.
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