Politics

Today at the White House: April 4, 2012 Next

Congressional Black Caucus Members Introduce Trayvon Martin Resolution

The resolution condemns Martin’s shooting and calls for the repeal of Stand Your Ground laws.

By Joyce Jones

Posted: 04/04/2012 04:14 PM EDT

Filed Under Stand Your Ground, U.S. Department of Justice, Emanuel Cleaver, Politics News, Frederica Wilson, Alcee Hastings, Congressional Black Caucus, Trayvon Martin

Thirty-seven percent of the American public and 56 percent of Republicans are tired of hearing about Trayvon Martin, according to a Pew Research Center poll. They may have to get used to it, however, because Martin’s supporters are adamant in their determination to not allow their fight for justice die a similarly egregious death.

And although Congress is on a two-week break, a group of Congressional Black Caucus members are standing their ground and have introduced a resolution to honor the slain teenager that also calls for the repeal of all Stand Your Ground and other controversial gun laws that allow shooters to assert self-defense.

The four-page resolution denounces the February shooting of Martin, which “sets a horrific precedent of vigilante justice and compromises the integrity of the legal system.” In addition, it says that George Zimmerman’s “unfounded assumptions and racial bias led to the use of deadly force.”

"As the Department of Justice continues its thorough investigation into Trayvon Martin's untimely death, it is time for us as legislators to look at the troubling Stand Your Ground law, which has enabled George Zimmerman to remain free,” said CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, who sponsored the resolution.

Florida Reps. Corrine Brown, Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson have signed on as co-sponsors.

“Florida’s misguided Stand Your Ground law does not make our streets safer, rather it turns our streets into a showdown at the OK Corral. But this is not the Wild West. We are supposed to be a civilized society,” Hastings said. “George Zimmerman must be prosecuted for his admitted shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Stand Your Ground law must be repealed.”

When asked during the daily White House press briefing to comment on the resolution, spokesman Jay Carney declined, citing the ongoing investigation by the Justice Department and Florida authorities.

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