Viera, FL – Officials of a gun rights advocacy group in Florida have decided to remove a 9mm semi-automatic handgun from their raffle after attention was brought to the fact that it’s the very same model handgun George Zimmerman used to kill Trayvon Martin.
The Gun Rights Preservation Forum had intended to raffle off a Kel-Tec PF-9 (along with a copy of the Bible) at an event attended by Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara. It was O’Mara who suggested dropping the PF-9 from the lot.
He will still appear at the event on November 4, and the raffle is likely to be reschedules, reports Opposing Views . The handgun has indeed been removed from the raffle completely.
Bob White, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Central East Florida, said that the raffle was only meant to support Kel-Tec as a gun manufacturer. The group wasn’t trying to make a statement about the Zimmerman verdict. Still, he admitted that postponing the raffle is the “right thing to do.”
“We have no doubt that George Zimmerman used this weapon legally in the defense of his own life. Certainly, its use prevented further serious bodily harm to himself, and he may very well have saved his own life by its use. We also recognize, though, that another life was lost in the process, and we do have empathy for the parents of Trayvon Martin. Losing their son was tragic, regardless of the circumstances.”
White also admitted that the raffle, coupled with O’Mara’s appearance, might distract from the actual goal of advocating Second Amendment rights.
“At the same time, it could potentially cause needless additional heartache for the parents of Trayvon Martin,” he said. “Nothing good could come from such a thoughtless act.”
White said that he was unaware that the PF-9 was the same model handgun used by Zimmerman in the controversial killing.
[Image: Shutterstock]
