A new public service announcement featuring a dramatization of Travyon Martin’s shooting death has once again ignited the debate over stand your ground laws.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence released the haunting PSA this week, titled “Stand up to ‘Stand Your Ground.’” It dramatizes glimpses of some of the alleged scenes from the fatal confrontation in 2012 between the unarmed teenager and neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, and uses real audio from 911 calls and a non-emergency line that Zimmerman phoned the night of the incident. Employing artistic license particularly at the end, the video shows rows of hoodie-clad bodies lying on the ground as the names of states flash on the screen, listing where these controversial laws exist.
“We based our dramatization around two 911 calls. Is it disturbing? You bet it is,” said Ladd Everitt, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence communications director. He told MSNBC, “It’s heartbreaking, and it should upset anyone who has basic human decency.”
In July, a six-woman jury acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter in Martin’s death. Zimmerman claimed self-defense in the shooting incident, saying he shot Martin after the teen attacked him; his legal team didn’t employ a stand your ground defense during the trial.
On Tuesday, George Zimmerman’s attorney slammed the PSA as “wildly inaccurate.”









