Trayvon Martin's Mom Fighting Stand Your Ground Laws
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Thanks to her Miami-Dade County coworkers, Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton, will be able to take an additional roughly eight months off from her county job.
The county commission allowed employees to donate their vacation time to Fulton or Trayvon's aunt, Yolanda Knight Evans. Fulton, who has worked in the county housing authority for 23 years collected $40,000 in donated vacation time, according to the CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
A total of 192 county employees gave Fulton some of their hours while 70 donated to Knight Evans.
Fulton has been on a crusade since her teenage son Trayvon was shot to death in Samford, Florida. George Zimmerman has pled not guilty to second-degree murder for killing Trayvon. Martin's death sparked a national debate on race and so-called "stand your ground" laws.
Zimmerman is expected to use the "stand your ground" law as a defense. The law allows a person to respond with deadly force anywhere if they think their life is in danger.
Fulton released a video to coincide with Mother's Day urging people around the country to push for reviews of self-defense laws. Dozens of states have similar laws. Florida's was passed with a large helping hand from the National Rifle Association.
"Nobody can bring our children back. But it would bring us comfort if we can spare other mothers the pain we will feel on Mother's Day and every day for the rest of our lives," Fulton said. "I'm asking you to join Florida by asking the governor of your state to reexamine similar 'stand your ground' laws throughout the nation to keep our children safe."
Fulton also said this weekend would be especially difficult for her and Trayvon's family.
"This will be my first Mother's Day without my son Trayvon," she said. "I know it will be hard. But my faith, family and friends will pull me through."
The video is being distributed via email and social media such as Twitter and Facebook by a coalition of civil rights and anti-gun violence organizations, including the NAACP and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Zimmerman face a possible life sentence if he's convicted of second-degree murder.
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