IF a guy pulls a gun on me, I guess I could just wait for him to shoot me, or I could try to run until he shoots me in the back, or I could try to disarm him and then use the gun to hold him off.
You are right, we have no idea if the gun was visible, but the idea that the gun had to be hidden or Martin would have just stood there is false.
If you look at pictures of Zimmerman, he’s an imposing-looking guy. Zimmerman told the 911 operator that he was observed by Martin, who then started walking away toward the back entrance of the community.
Imagine this from Martin’s perspective. You are a teen in a community that isn’t your own neighborhood. You are walking back to the house you are staying at. A car pulls up slowly and is following you. There is a large mean-looking hispanic guy staring at you. As you walk, he follows you slowly.
You try to walk faster, and then the guy gets out of his car and starts coming after you.
Do you assume that the guy is a good guy who is coming to ask you questions, or do you assume the guy is coming to rob you? If the gun is showing, it just makes the situation more threatening.
BTW, a guy with a gun should not be approaching a suspect close enough to get into a fist fight, with the gun still holstered.
This could all be a tragic misunderstanding, but I don’t see how Zimmerman gets out of this as the “victim”. Once the 911 operator told Zimmerman NOT to follow the guy, Zimmerman lost his chance to claim “self-defense”, in my opinion.