George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, then acquitted by a Florida jury on July 13, 2013. The case sparked a nationwide debate and protests over “stand your ground” laws and race relations in the United States.
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.
Corey is the special prosecutor who was appointed by Florida epublican Gov. Rick Scott to investigate the death of Trayvon Martin.
On the auction website, Zimmerman claims the case number from the trial is written on the gun in permanent marker and that “The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.” has expressed interest in “owning and displaying the firearm,” though he does not specify which Smithsonian.
“The firearm is fully functional as the attempts by the Department of Justice on behalf of B. Hussein Obama to render the firearm inoperable were thwarted by my phenomenal Defense Attorney,” he wrote, “I recognize the purchaser’s ownership and right to do with the firearm as they wish.”
He closed the description with “si vis pacem para bellum,” which means “If you want peace, prepare for war” in Latin.
Zimmerman told WOGZ that he has received death threats since putting the gun up for auction but has decided to continue with it anyway.
“What I’ve decided to do is not cower,” he said. “I’m a free American. I can do what I want with my possessions.”
When the station reached out to Martin’s family attorney for a statement on the auction, the family responded with a statement reading, “The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States. This election season, we are laser focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person.”
Social media has filled with nearly palpable outrage since the announcement of the auction, most of it containing language too vulgar to quote online.
This isn’t the first time Zimmerman has caused controversy by selling a personal item. Last August, he teamed up with Florida Gun Supply – a gun store that had publicly declared itself a “Muslim-free zone” – to sell prints of a painting by Zimmerman depicting a Confederate battle flag. It included the inscription, “The 2nd protects our 1st,” presumably referring to the Second and First Amendments.
The auction begins Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, and bidding starts at $5,000.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Travis M. Andrews
