Sunday, May 13, 2012

Trayvon Martin’s Mother Calls for End to ‘Shoot First’ Laws



Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, released a YouTube video on Friday that encourages opposition to “stand your ground” laws.

Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in February by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman was not immediately arrested due to an expansive self-defense law in Florida, and the shooting set off a nationwide debate over gun control laws and racial profiling.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder more than six weeks later.

“Just like me, 30,000 mothers lost their children this year to senseless gun violence,” Fulton says in the video. “Nobody can bring our children back, but it would bring us comfort if we can help spare other mothers the pain that we will feel on Mother’s day and every day. I’m asking you to join Florida in calling upon the governor of your state to reexamine similar ‘stand your ground’ laws throughout the nation.”

The video was posted by safe gun law advocacy organization Second Chance on Shoot First and The Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, which Fulton founded.

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