By Mike McPhate, nytimes.com
George Zimmerman, the Florida man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, plans to auction the handgun used in the 2012 killing on Thursday.
“I’m a free American. I can do what I’d like with my possessions,” Mr. Zimmerman said on Wednesday in an interview with WOFL, a broadcaster in Orlando, Fla.
Mr. Zimmerman, whose killing of Trayvon as a neighborhood watch leader made the 17-year-old boy a symbol of racial profiling and the face of a protest movement, said he had recently recovered the weapon from the Justice Department.
“I thought it’s time to move past the firearm,” Mr. Zimmerman said in the interview. “And if I sell it and it sells, I move past it. Otherwise, it’s going in a safe for my grandkids and never to be used or seen again.”
Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, released a statement through his lawyer early Thursday saying the family would not be commenting on the “actions of that person that murdered Trayvon.”
“The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States,” the statement said. “We are laser focused on furthering that mission.”
The announcement of the sale set off angry reactions on social media, where people described the move as “sick,” “disgusting” and “beyond tasteless.”
Doesn’t get sicker than this…..Zimmerman to sell gun used to kill Trayvon Martin, help fund anti-Clinton effort https://t.co/dQLyZ1PycI
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 12, 2016
It’s funny how we keep being surprised by George Zimmerman’s awfulness. As though killing a teenager didn’t set the bar low enough.
— Zack Handlen (@zhandlen) May 12, 2016
The gun, a Kel-Tec PF-9 is listed on the auction website gunbroker.com, where Mr. Zimmerman describes it as “a piece of American history.”
“Prospective bidders, I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American Firearm Icon,” the listing says. “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.”
