Trayvon Martin’s Mom Testifies Before Congress; Ted Cruz Lectures Her
Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, appeared Tuesday before a Senate committee to testify about state-level so-called “stand your ground” laws and demand changes:
Fulton said George Zimmerman, the black teenager’s killer who was acquitted of murder in July, took advantage of a law that “creates many opportunities for people to commit terrible acts of violence and evade justice”.
She said Zimmerman’s knowledge of the controversial legislation, which was enacted in Florida in 2005 and removed a person’s obligation to retreat from a confrontation in which they felt threatened, “may have emboldened him to stalk my son and use lethal force even in a situation where it seemed unnecessary and certainly avoidable”. Zimmerman did not use the stand-your-ground law in his defence, but it was cited by police who initially declined to charge him with Martin’s killing.
Fulton was one of a number of speakers who addressed the Senate judiciary committee’s hearing on the implementation of stand-your-ground laws nationwide and the “public safety implications of the expanded use of deadly force”.
Senator Ted Cruz could not resist the opportunity to once again show the nation that he’s an irredeemable tool:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tried to dismiss claims that such laws had racial implications. Because many black people are victims of violent crime and need to defend themselves, Cruz said, “the notion that ‘stand your ground’ laws are some form of veiled racism may be a convenient political attack, but it is not borne out by the fact remotely.” The chair of the subcommittee, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, offered a quick and biting rebuttal. Sitting in front of the two was Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother. …
Cruz, echoing a common line from conservatives, argued that the laws benefit African-Americans — slyly citing Barack Obama’s statements 2004 in defense of his position.
