Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon"

Updated at 1:50 p.m. ET

(CBS News) President Obama spoke out for the first time on Friday about the fatal shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old African-American boy in Florida named Trayvon Martin, calling it a "tragedy."

"I can only imagine what these parents are going through," Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, "and when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids, and I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together, federal, state and local, to figure out how this tragedy happened."

Mr. Obama said he is glad the Justice Department is investigating the shooting and that Florida Gov. Rick Scott formed a task force in response to the incident as well. The president suggested he was sympathetic to suspicion that the shooting may have been racially motivated.

"You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Mr. Obama said.

"All of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen," he continued. "And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident."

Gingrich, Romney, Santorum discuss Trayvon Martin

Mr. Obama was asked about the shooting on Friday during an event at which he announced the nomination of Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to be World Bank president.

Martin was shot in Sanford, Florida, nearly a month ago after a confrontation in a gated community with a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman maintains he shot Martin in self defense, and a Florida self-defense law has so far let Zimmerman remain free. 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.

In spite of the ongoing investigations, outrage over the incident continues to grow.

Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton said on "CBS This Morning" on Friday that she wants Zimmerman arrested. Thousands of people rallied in Sanford on Thursday to push for his arrest, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also decried the fact that Zimmerman remains free.

Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida took to the House floor on Wednesday to call for justice for Martin, calling the incident "a classic example of racial profiling quickly followed by murder."

After Mr. Obama commented on the shooting today, the Martin family released the following response:

It is humbling that President Obama took time from his busy schedule to talk about Trayvon and offer the support of the Department of Justice and other federal organizations.

The President's personal comments touched us deeply and made us wonder: If his son looked liked Trayvon and wore a hoodie, would he be suspicious too?

We'd like to thank the President and the millions of people from around the world who have shown their support for Trayvon by participating in hoodie marches, rallies or through social media. We are all working together to not only get justice for Trayvon, but also to ensure that this kind of senseless tragedy doesn't happen to another child.

[julcon]

A tiny correction:
"If I had a son, he'd look as ugly as Trayvon and would also use and distribute drugs like myself in my youth years and now Trayvon"

[bonzothemonkey]

Keep in mind, President Obama's remarks were made in March, just days immediately following the boy's death. The President, like most others, was caught up in what at the time seemed like a senseless killing of a young boy. The picture released of Travon was one that had been taken when he was fourteen, three years prior to his death. Later pictures showed him to be, as would be expected, a more mature young man, Also, reports came out that he had had a history of taking drugs. This history, of course, is not much different than many other kids who have experimented one or another of them. Also, these blog discussions don't really solve anything. It'll be the testimony and evidence the jurors see, along with the credibility of Zimmermann, which right now seems to growing into more and more of a real problem for him.

[MrUniteUs2012]

Here is the complete statement by President Obama

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/03/23/president-obama-nominates-jim-yong-kim-world-bank-president

Note he introduced his nominee for the World Bank and was then immediately asked a question about racism and Martin.
I personally thought he gave an XLNT answer devoid of hatred.

He wants to make sure the case is thoroughly investigated,and we get to the bottom of what happened.

[moosedung]

Obama says if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon. How does he know that? With a white mother isn't it possible his son would look more like Zimmerman? What difference should race make anyway?

[MrUniteUs2012]

It shouldn't but it will as long as we live in country where the majority of the population uses color their primary means of identification.

[Karmella007]

It was a figure of speech clown not to be taken literally.. & race has nothing to do with it just justice..

[PoliticalSudoku]

When is Obama going to start acting like a President???

[DevoutPlayerhater]

Whenever you stop rubbing the back of your head and making your a&&hole open....LMAO

[totschlager]

DevoutPlayerHater, when are you going to act like a decent human being?

[occupy_cbs]

As if the fox political network propagandists or the fox/rush parrots couldn't get any more ridiculous or rabid about an overly-zealous vigilante acting as judge, jury and executioner:


Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage -- including from his own son, apparently -- by suggesting on Friday that Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen shot dead last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer, courted violence by wearing a hoodie. That piece of clothing killed Martin, according to Rivera "as surely as George Zimmerman."

[bonzothemonkey]

That seems like a real stretch, even for Geraldo to make. A hoodie's a popular garment, one a lot of kids wear, especially on an early spring night which was when the shooting occurred.

[occupy_cbs]

On Friday, Florida court records reviewed by Reuters showed Zimmerman was involved in at least two previous legal incidents, including a 2005 domestic violence case with his former fiancee.

Zimmerman, who at the time worked at an insurance agency, and his ex-fiance both sought restraining orders against each other after getting into a pushing match. In her complaint, Veronica Zuazo said the two had been involved in two physical fights in 2002 and 2003.

Zimmerman was also arrested and charged with resisting a law enforcement officer with violence in 2005. The case was eventually dropped after he completed a program to avoid being formally charged.

[totschlager]

So, are you going to post the negatives concerning the character of Trayvon Martin? He was no angel if we were to go by his twitter, facebook, and school suspension. But you're right, someone with the screenname of "No_Limit_Nigga" is a stand up guy.

[occupy_cbs]

FLHR12: "You still refuse to understand that Obama has no business saying such a ridicules<sic> thing."




President Obama has just as much of a right weighing in on this debacle that has incensed people from coast to coast, as YOU do!

You obviously have let your far-right hatred get the best of you!

BTW, it's the uneducated REDnecks that prove their ignorance that are the threat to our country, more than people standing up for justice and fair investigations.

[occupy_cbs]

In Sanford, Norton Bonaparte Jr., the city's manager, acknowledged tensions between the black community and police "go back many, many years." "The trust that existed is gone, so we have to start from ground zero," he said. Sanford's police chief and a Florida state prosecutor overseeing the case stepped aside on Thursday as criticism grew over police handling of the investigation.


Obviously there's been a problem in Sanford for a long time.

[occupy_cbs]

Dan1903: "That's just nonsense dividing this country up."



Nah danny boy, your dittohead ideology is dividing the country!

In Sanford, Norton Bonaparte Jr., the city's manager, acknowledged tensions between the black community and police "go back many, many years." "The trust that existed is gone, so we have to start from ground zero," he said. Sanford's police chief and a Florida state prosecutor overseeing the case stepped aside on Thursday as criticism grew over police handling of the investigation.

[occupy_cbs]

The co-author of the Stand Your Ground law, State Rep. Dennis Baxley, said "the law wasn't intended to cover citizens who pursue suspected threats."



=====
FLHR12: "I'm sure they are aware of what you posted and do not need your armatures knowledge of the law or laws in the state of Florida."
=====





What does a knowledge of any moving part of an electrical machine in which a voltage is induced by a magnetic field, have to do with the "Stand Your Ground" law, 'smart guy'?

YOU most certainly have missed any points any other posters have made!