Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
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| Trayvon Martin (L) and George Zimmerman (R) |
Six years ago today, unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman in Florida.
At the time, President Obama’s statement – “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago” – was deemed “divisive” by the conservative right.
Now look what we have in the White House.
Reuters is reporting that George Zimmerman, who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, has successfully auctioned off the gun used in the killing for $250,000.
His offer to sell the Kel-Tec PF9 9mm handgun on UnitedGunGroup.com drew praise from gun rights supporters and scorn from critics who accused him of seeking to profit from the 17-year-old’s death.
In a statement on Twitter after the bidding closed on Wednesday, United Gun Group defended its decision to host the auction and said it would have no further comments.
On his own website that day, Zimmerman said the auction had “raised funds for several worthy causes.” He has said he would use proceeds to counter violence against law enforcement officers by the group Black Lives Matter and to fight Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s “anti-firearm rhetoric.”
I highly doubt Zimmerman will donate all of the proceeds to charity. I’m sure he counts himself as a “worthy cause.”
On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot and killed 17 year-old Trayvon Martin.
A year and a half later, Zimmerman was acquitted on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter based on Florida’s “stand your ground” laws. Zimmerman portrayed himself as the victim in the entire incident.
Since then, Zimmerman has had several run-ins with the police which continue to illustrate violent tendencies.
Now, Zimmerman has chosen to inflame societal concerns once again.
Via the Washington Post:
Now, Zimmerman is auctioning off the 9-millimeter pistol he used to kill Martin on a website called GunBroker.com.
“I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American Firearm Icon,” he wrote in the description of the gun used to kill the unarmed, black teenager. “The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012.”
He wrote that the proceeds will be used to “fight [Black Lives Matter] violence against Law Enforcement officers” and to “ensure the demise of Angela Correy’s persecution career and Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric,” though he hasn’t expounded upon how.
UPDATE – Well, that was fast. The listing for George Zimmerman’s gun appears to have been removed from the site. Gee, do you think they were surprised by the uproar?
The Department of Justice has officially announced there will be no charges filed against George Zimmerman for the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
From ABC News:
ABC News has learned Martin’s family will soon be notified that the Justice Department will not be filing charges against George Zimmerman, who shot the 17-year-old after a confrontation in 2012. Thursday marks three years to the day since Martin was killed.
Federal prosecutors concluded there is not sufficient evidence to prove Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman in Sanford, Fla., intentionally violated Martin’s civil rights, sources told ABC News.
Clay Bennett Cartoon from 2014-07-31 pic.twitter.com/MoJaywrXU2— WashPostNewsMedia (@WPNMS) August 1, 2014
George Zimmerman still says he was the victim on the night he shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo: “Do you regret that you killed Trayvon Martin?”
George Zimmerman: “Unfortunately, the Department of Justice is conducting a civil rights investigation. Certainly, I think about that night and I think my life would be tremendously easier if I stayed home.”
When Cuomo asks if things would be different today, that Zimmerman wouldn’t have ended up killing Trayvon Martin, had Zimmerman stayed home that night, Zimmerman replies, “He (Trayvon) wouldn’t have ended up attacking me.”
Draw your won conclusions, folks.
Last night, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis accepted their American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album via satellite feed and the mood took a serious tone, as the duo addressed the topics of racial profiling and specifically Trayvon Martin:
“Thank you to the AMAs. It has been an absolutely incredible year,” Macklemore began. “I feel extremely blessed to be accepting an award at the AMAs. And now that I’m sitting here in front of millions of people, I’d like to address something extremely important to me.
“I was talking to my friend before the show, and he reminded me of a great Martin Luther King quote: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ And due to the fact that we are in Florida tonight accepting this award, I want to acknowledge Trayvon Martin and the hundreds and hundreds of kids that are dying each year due to racial profiling and the violence that follows it.
“This is really happening — our friends, our neighbors, our peers, our fans — and it’s time that we look out for the youth and fight against racism and the laws that protect it.”
In a surprise appearance at a White House press conference, President Obama said Friday that all Americans should respect the George Zimmerman verdict, but white Americans should also understand that African Americans continue to face racial discrimination.
From USAToday:
“Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” said the President.
More than a year after saying that Trayvon could have been his son, Obama told reporters that, like other African Americans, he has been followed by security guards while shopping, and has seen motorists lock their doors or women hold tighter to their purses as as he walked near them.
“I don’t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida,” Obama said.
A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman on Saturday night of murder in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Trayvon.
In a 17-minute address that got emotional at times, Obama said he respects the different views of the verdict, but the trial was conducted professionally, and “once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works.”
As the Justice Department investigates whether to charge Zimmerman with civil rights violations in the wake of Trayvon’s 2012 death, Obama said state and local governments should examine whether changes to laws can head off violent confrontations. That includes racial training for law enforcement in order to reduce tensions between police and minorities, he said.
The president also questioned the wisdom of Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which, in the view of critics, all but encourages confrontation that could turn deadly.