President Obama released a statement yesterday in response to the shocking not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, expressing his sadness and desire to curb gun violence.
"The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy,” President Obama’s statement begins, as published by The Huffington Post . “Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America.”
Martin, 17, was shot and killed in late February 2012, in Sanford, Florida by Zimmerman, 29, who pled not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder. Zimmerman claims he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense.
“I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher,” the president’s statement continues. “But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities.”
The president asked that those angered by the verdict not only to reflect on how to better strengthen their communities, but also if each citizen is doing all they can to combat gun violence in America.
“We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this,” the president concluded. “As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin."
Outraged citizens took to the streets to protest in the wake of the not guilty verdict, according to The Los Angels Times . Police declared the gathering of 80 people outside a CNN building in Hollywood an unlawful assembly, showing up in riot gear and arresting those who refused to cease chanting. The protestors were shouting, “No justice, no peace.”
Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti quoted civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. on his Twitter in the aftermath of the protests writing, “"Nonviolence is a powerful & just weapon .. It is a sword that heals."
Image: NBC