George Zimmerman, the man who made headlines in February 2012 for shooting Trayvon Martin, has decided to auction the weapon used in the altercation. He claims he will use the money generated from the sale to “fight Black Lives Matter violence against law enforcement officers.”
[revad1]
“I’m a free American. I can do what I want…"
Zimmerman says he's auctioning off gun from Trayvon Martin shootinghttps://t.co/ajempL0WyF— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 12, 2016
Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges related to the shooting that took place nearly four years ago. Since that time Zimmerman has had eight run-ins with law enforcement agencies, ranging from speeding ticket to a domestic dispute where he reportedly pointed a shotgun at his then-girlfriend.
Zimmerman has listed it, a PF-9 Kel-Tec, on gunbroker. The starting bid is listed at $5,000 and bidding is expected to start on 5/12/2016 at 11:00 AM ET. He states that he recently received the weapon back from the Department of Justice and decided to sell the weapon in order to “move past” the dark spot in his history. During an interview with WOFL-TV in Orlando he stated:
“I thought it was time to to move past the firearm, and if I sell it and it sells, I move past it…”
There has been a public outlash against Zimmerman from the moment he decided to list the weapon for sale. He claims to have received several death threats. He refuses to allow these threats to dissuade him from selling the gun. He told WOFL-TV:
“I’m a free American and I can do what i want with my possessions.”
The Trayvon Martin Foundation, an anti-gun organization set up following the death of Trayvon Martin, has declined to comment on the auction. They state that they are focused on achieving their goal of ending gun violence in America and that:
“As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person.”
Zimmerman states that he is honored and humbled to announce the sale of what he calls an “American Firearm Icon”. He described the weapon as a “piece of American History.” and plans to go forward with the sale despite public criticism.
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