Friday, May 13, 2016

A repugnant gun transaction

USA Today has the story of the on again, off again and once more on again auction of a notorious gun:
George Zimmerman's auction of Trayvon Martin gun back on
The url is more informative:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/05/12/george-zimmerman-auctions-gun-used-trayvon-martin-killing/84271998/

"George Zimmerman tried a second time Thursday to auction off the firearm he used to kill 17-year-oldTrayvon Martin in Florida in 2012 after the first gun-selling website yanked the listing minutes before bidding was to begin on the "piece of history."
A statement posted on the website GunBroker.com said listings are user generated, and that the company reserved the right to reject any at its discretion.
"Mr. Zimmerman never contacted anyone at GunBroker.com prior to or after the listing was created and no one at (the website) has any relationship with Zimmerman," the company wrote in its statement.
It added, "We want no part in the listing on our web site or in any of the publicity it is receiving."
The listing, which got more than 185,000 views, was replaced at mid-morning Thursday by a message that said, without elaboration, "Sorry, but the item you have requested is no longer in the system."
Zimmerman told the Orlando Sentinel that GunBroker.com was not "prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction of my firearm. It has now been placed with another auction house."
The new listing for the Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm firearm was posted on unitedgungroup.com.
Zimmerman wrote in both listings that that he was "honored and humbled" to announce the sale of the weapon and set the bidding to start at $5,000. Similar firearms normally sell on the site for around $200.
"The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012," he wrote.
Zimmerman, 32, noted the Justice Department returned the weapon to him recently and it still bears the case number written on it in silver permanent marker.
"This is a piece of American History," he wrote. "It has been featured in several publications and in current University text books."
Zimmerman, then a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed Trayvon in February 2012, in a confrontation as the unarmed teenager was heading back to a relative's house in Sanford, Fla., after buying snacks at a convenience store.
A jury found Zimmerman, who alleged that Martin was trying to bash his head on the pavement during a struggle, not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter."

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