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Old 08-11-2018, 07:45 AM   #1
Vetter
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Central Florida
Age: 76
Posts: 62,704
Exclamation Facebook posts end in a shooting...

A Florida man responded to a post about President Donald Trump. His response wasn't about Trump, it was about felon voting rights. And that's when the squabble between the two forty something men exploded into a flurry of private messages and took an ugly turn.

The argument escalated into threats and taunts of fighting, police said, and ended in a shooting that left one of the men wounded.

The victim has been released from the hospital, but it underscores how passionate social media interactions can have real-world consequences.

Tampa Police say 44-year-old Brian Sebring faces felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed gun. Sebring told the Tampa Bay Times he "just snapped and let primal rage take over" when he left work early on Monday, went home to get his gun and headed to the home of 46-year-old Alex Stephens.

According to Sebring, a registered Democrat, he responded to post on Facebook by a felon who said he wanted to share his political opinions even though he'd lost his right to vote.

In Florida, as many as 1.5 million former prisoners aren't allowed to vote due to a ban in the state constitution. But the state's voters will decide in November whether to alter the current ban, which is also the subject on an ongoing federal lawsuit.

If 60 percent of voters approve the constitutional amendment, most convicted felons no longer in prison would have their rights automatically restored. Many Democratic politicians are in favor of revising the state's ban, while top Republicans such as Gov. Rick Scott have defended the current system, saying ex-prisoners should have to wait and prove they deserve to have their rights restored.

Sebring told the newspaper that he wrote on the Facebook threat that if someone wants to voice an opinion, "don't do criminal activity, don't get caught, be a productive member of society."
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