With a gift of more than $12,000 to
replace his handgun, Florida block-watch member George Zimmerman has
thanked his Ohio benefactors.
Zimmerman, of course, is the Sanford,
Fla. Resident who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a
controversial Feb, 26, 2012 incident that raised a series of
questions from racial profiling to gun control to the propriety of
the so-called “stand your ground” laws.
The-then 28-year-old Zimmerman was
later arrested and tried for second degree murder and manslaughter.
He was acquitted of all charges on July
13 by an all-female jury, following a month-long trial that was
watched closely. Not only in Florida but the United States as even
internationally.
Since Zimmerman was acquitted of all
charges his Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm semi-automatic pistol was his rightful
property. By Florida law then the police were required to return the
handgun to Zimmerman.
However, the U.S. Justice Department
intervened and seized all evidence as the federal government mulls
its own potentially civil rights case. Among the items turned over to
the Justice Department was Zimmerman's handgun.
And that action brought into play the
Ohio-based Buckeye Firearms Association and also Foundation. In short
order the Foundation raised more than $12,000 so that Zimmerman could
purchase a replacement handgun as well as various related
accessories.
A Kel-Tec PF-9 retails between $340 and
$380.
In appreciation for the Ohio pro-Second
Amendment group's activities, Zimmerman's Florida attorney Mark
O'Mara noted receipt of the money, that it would be forwarded to his
client for the acquisition of not only a replacement pistol for
personal protection but also for a home security system.
“George wants to express his sincere
appreciation for all of the efforts made on his behalf by members of
your Foundation,” O'Mara wrote in a July 29 letter to Ken Hansen
with the Buckeye Firearms Foundation.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
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