Trayvon Martin Updates

Residents take part in a rally demanding justice for the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin in Miami, Florida April 1, 2012. Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in central Florida a month ago. [Reuters Pictures]

Raw Story—Thousands of protesters attend rally in Sanford, Florida:

Thousands of protesters, including civil rights leaders, media figures, activists and ordinary citizens gathered on Saturday at a rally in Sanford, Florida, site of the February shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. According to MSNBC.com, the protest began on the campus of a local high school, wound through a predominantly black neighborhood, and ended at the Sanford Police Department, blocks away.

Marchers included NAACP President Ben Jealous, Rev. Al Sharpton, now of MSNBC-TV, and Reverend Jesse Jackson. The rally was organized by the NAACP, with branches in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina organizing bus-loads of marchers who came as a show of solidarity and to demand an arrest of the man who admits to shooting Martin, George Zimmerman.

Protesters marched to gospel music and carried banners that said, "Justice for Trayvon."

"We want an arrest," they chanted, "Shot in the chest."

There were demonstrations in other parts of the country, too. In Indiana: "Locked arm-in-arm, some with the hoods of their sweatshirts pulled over their heads or holding bags of Skittles, an estimated 200 people protested the slaying of Florida teen Trayvon Martin after services Sunday afternoon at Light of the World Christian Church. The peaceful demonstration resulted in the arrests of 13 people for obstructing vehicular traffic to the east of the church on Michigan Road, including the Rev. David Hampton, who commended Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers for doing their job as he was arrested."

That really just gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? The not-black man who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager is not under arrest, but the black reverend who "obstructed vehicular traffic" while protesting that injustice is.

In other news:

Orlando Sentinel—Trayvon Martin Shooting: It's Not George Zimmerman Crying for Help on 911 Recording, Two Experts Say: "Tom Owen, forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence, used voice identification software to rule out Zimmerman. Another expert contacted by the Sentinel, utilizing different techniques, came to the same conclusion. Zimmerman claims self-defense in the shooting and told police he was the one screaming for help. But these experts say the evidence tells a different story."

ABC News—President Clinton Hopes Trayvon Martin Case Leads to Reappraisal of 'Stand Your Ground' Laws: "I hope this will lead to a reappraisal of the Stand Your Ground laws, and I hope that the truth will come out and that the tragedy of this young man's loss will not be in vain—it's just terrible. Whatever the facts were—all these people trying to jump on him and talking about some mistake he made in his life—that's irrelevant because [he was an] unarmed person who was killed on the street by a gun. And so I hope justice will be done in this case but I hope that the larger justice that would somehow redeem a portion of this terrible loss. The American people should re-examine their position on that and ask: Is this really worth it? Are we really all that much safer taking the chance that this kind of thing could happen over and over and over again?"

The Hill—House Dems Eye Policy Responses to Shooting Death of Trayvon Martin: "In the wake of the slaying of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, House Democrats are drafting legislation designed to prevent similar tragedies in the future. The lawmakers want to adopt tougher rules for neighborhood watch programs, eliminate certain state gun laws, rein in racial profiling and require an examination of racial disparities nationwide."

So far, only members of the Congressional Black Caucus have signed onto the legislation. One hopes that other members of Congress will support them.

Write to your representative here and encourage them to support the legislation being introduced in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin, or to thank them for leading the way.