Trayvon Martin shooting spurs lawmakers to call for more action

The ongoing controversy surrounding the fatal shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old in Florida is spurring state and federal lawmakers to call for more action, including the arrest of shooter George Zimmerman and a review of the law that has so far let him go free.

Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida took to the House floor on Wednesday to call for justice for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old African-American teen who was shot 25 days ago. Martin lived in Wilson's Sanford, Florida district, and the congresswoman said she would take to the House floor every day "and announce to America how long justice for Trayvon Martin has been delayed."

"Every single day new evidence emerges, and still there is no arrest," Wilson said. "What does it take? What more does it take?"

She called the incident "a classic example of racial profiling quickly followed by murder."

Three weeks ago, Zimmerman shot and killed Martin after a confrontation in a gated community. Zimmerman was acting as a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain and maintains he shot Martin in self-defense. But Martin's girlfriend, who was on the phone with him when it happened, says Zimmerman was the aggressor. Before he shot Martin, Zimmerman called 911 and told an operator an unfamiliar African-American was in the neighborhood. The 911 operator told Zimmerman to stop following him.

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation in the case and the local Florida prosecutor has convened a grand jury to consider criminal charges, but outrage continues to grow.

On Tuesday, Wilson said on the House floor she's "tired of burying young black boys."

Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown, another Sanford congresswoman, similarly said on the House floor Wednesday that there should be an arrest in the case.

"In a society that we live in, it's very important that we have to feel that the criminal justice system is fair. And it's fair to all parties," she said. "I cannot stand before you today saying that I feel that the system operated fairly."

On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott told activists the state needs to revisit the law that has allowed Zimmerman remain free.

"If there's something wrong with the law that's in place, I think it's important we address it," Scott told a group of about 50 protesters in the lobby of his office, the Palm Beach Post reports. "I'm going to look at it. If what's happening is it's being abused, that's not right. We all want to live in a safe place."

Multiple Florida lawmakers have, along with Scott, called for a review of the "stand your ground law," passed in 2005, that allows individuals to use of deadly force when they feel threatened.

Meanwhile, activists continue to organize rallies and events to bring attention to the issue. On Wednesday, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous joined local NAACP leaders at an open forum at which residents complained of other alleged incidences of abuse and discrimination from the Sanford Police Department. The NAACP is submitting this testimony to the Justice Department.

Martin's parents have started an online petition calling for Zimmerman's arrest that has so far garnered more than 800,000 signatures.

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[mick7744]

Sorry about the partial post below...computer issues!

At the very least, this self-appointed cop wannabee precipitated this tragedy with some really atrocious decisions...decisions that led directly to the death of an unarmed teenager.

I also believe that he was far more concerned with preventing the "perp" from getting away when he disregarded the dispatcher's advising him NOT to pursue or confront the subject until the (real) police arrive. I believe he ignored those instructions because he "wanted to be in on the collar"

From there, it goes all the way to intentional murder committed in rage...perhaps because the kid dared to fight back.

As is usually the case...the truth probably lies somewhere in between...

But in any case, this Zimmerman should do serious time...explaining to his new friends in prison why he isn't really a racist at all...just a guy who was doing his job...

That stance could either win or cost him votes in the D-Block Homecoming Queen election...

As for Trayvon Martin's family using the internet and the media to get justice for their slain child was the only avenue left open to them. As far as the Sanford PD is concerned, there WAS no case to investigate...

I believe that Zimmerman felt safe acting in this reckless, irresponsible manner because he was certain of the backing of the police...and he was right...for quite some time...until national outrage took shape over this travesty...

Which unfortunately leads to race-baiting bottom-feeders like Al Sharpton slithering in to feed on the carcass...tainting what is basically a righteous cause with his shameless self-promotion and racial divisiveness...

And this time...he has a GENUINE injustice to rant about...not another seedy fraud like Tawana Brawley...

Trayvon's family would be wise to protect their son's memory by resisting any association with this racist hustler...

[reality_sanity]

Requesting a "CARRY PERMIT" should require (in addition to any other legal liability) the so licensed person to submit to the same type of inquiry as a police officer whenever his weapon is involved in a shooting or even a threatening (brandishing) situation.

[reality_sanity]

Quite simply a "CARRY PERMIT" is a RESPONSIBILITY like a driver's license not a right to absolute and unquestioned actions.

[mick7744]

As is usually the case...the truth probably lies somewhere in between...

But in any case, this Zimmerman should do serious time...explaining to his new friends in prison why he isn't really a racist at all...just a guy who was doing his job...

That stance could either win or cost him votes in the D-Block Homecoming Queen election...

As for Trayvon Martin's family using the internet and the media to get justice for their slain child was the only avenue left open to them. As far as the Sanford PD is concerned, there WAS no case to investigate...

I believe that Zimmerman felt safe acting in this reckless, irresponsible manner because he was certain of the backing of the police...and he was right...for quite some time...until national outrage took shape over this travesty...

Which unfortunately leads to race-baiting bottom-feeders like Al Sharpton slithering in to feed on the carcass...tainting what is basically a righteous cause with his shameless self-promotion and racial divisiveness...

And this time...he has a GENUINE injustice to rant about...not another seedy fraud like Tawana Brawley...

Trayvon's family would be wise to protect their son's memory and resist any association with this racist hustler...

[jimatmadison]

You can not write a law that allows an armed person to hunt down and shoot an unarmed human being simply for walking through a neighborhood.

Such a law can not exist in the United States of America no matter what anyone may try to do.

Mr Zimmerman should be in jail. Whoever in the Florida police and legal community is responsible for Mr Zimmerman not being in jail should themselves be in jail. Whoever allowed this mental defective access to a gun should be in jail. Whoever gave Mr Zimmerman permission to carry a loaded weapon in public should be in jail.

The only innocent in all of this is young Mr Martin, and he's dead because so many people failed to do the good and decent thing in Florida.

[reality_sanity]

legalbotnotjust; several of Florida's Republican lawmakers are already on the record that the pursuit alone disqualifies the shooter from the self-defense claim. Compound that fact with voice recordings of the police instructing the shooter to CEASE his pursuit and the legal improbability of self-defense seems to completely vanish and even ignorance of the law (which is never supposed to be an excuse) also vanishes.

[sooner_schooner]

I still have yet to see any evidence that Zimmerman committed a crime, or that race even needs to be mentioned in this issue. Disgusting the level of knee-jerk, race-baiting morons we have in this country.
About 100 years ago there was another group of people who liked to carry out vigilante justice with knee-jerk responses based on nothing more than the skin color of people involved in incidents. They were called the KKK.

[nearl451]

He killed someone just because he deemed him a general "threat" without any violent or actually being threatened in any way.

If this is not a crime; then it certainly should be.

[jimatmadison]

It is a crime, nearl451.

[BlameRepublicanz]

conservatives will defend a murderer before they take the same side as black, liberal lawmakers....how sad.

[alaskan1st]

Martin had the right to shoot Zimmerman but not the other way around. Poor teen should have had a gun. Of course the cops wouldn't have let him go that night. We all know that if Martin was white, Zimmerman would have gone downtown that night.

[windmillchaser]

Oh good grief. It this had been a black 'Captain block neighborhood watch officer' and had shot a 17 yr old white you would have had an arrest so fast you cant say NAACP fast enough.

So the witness' were ignored, the girlfriend who was on the phone with him was ignored.

Something is not right in the Kingdom of the Mouse.

[alaskan1st]

But, can we all agree that if the teen was white, this Hispanic would have been arrested?

[userjohna]

Does Florida law confuse license to kill with the stand your ground? The victim was pursued by the shooter and there is no evidence reported of any damage to him done by the victim. No wonder there are questions that need further investigation.

[reality_sanity]

Even REPUBLICAN lawmakers in Florida are claiming the pursuit alone negates any self defense argument concerning the shooting. The pursuit continued after police according to phone recordings instructed the shooter to END HIS PURSUIT. Which in my mind further compounds the offense.

[hindsightis2020]

Southern conservatives/GOP rule in Florida..... Southern conservatives have made the laws that govern Florida.... Just who are these southern conservative politicians??? Are racists pig politicians in America hiding in the Grand Old Party?

"From my narrower perch, where I watched Nixon's "Southern strategy" successfully evolve in his 1968 campaign, it seemed that the roots of our political dysfunction trace back to a shift in southern conservative congressional representation from Democratic to Republican control following the Civil Rights Act of 1964."Alan Greenspan "The Age of Turbulence" pg246

Alan Greenspan seems to think they are...... So Zimmerman walks free.