The father of slain Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin is asking members of the Congressional Black Caucus to review gun laws in the wake of the case. The room fell silent as Tracy Martin entered to testify in the inaugural forum on the state of black boys and men in America. A visibly shaken Martin says his son's killing doesn’t have to be in vain.
“I would like to see that Trayvon Martin name is attached to sometime of statute or amendment that says you can’t simply profile our children, shoot them in the heart, kill them, and say that you were defending yourself”, Martin pleaded .
George Zimmerman was acquitted for the killing that’s now being reviewed by the Department of Justice to see if he broke any federal civil rights laws. More than 20 states have enacted statues similar to Florida’s stand your ground law. DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is a co-chair of a new group called the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys.
“Why are we going to let these stand your ground laws stand", Norton asked. "They are a clear and present danger to every black man in America.”
Lawmakers and witnesses also discussed ways to reverse with the high incarceration rate of black youths and men.