Trayvon Martin's mother joined a prominent African-American lawyers' organization in vowing Monday to keep the pressure on legislators to repeal or overhaul "stand your ground" self-defense laws.
"We have to change the law so that this doesn't happen to someone else's child," Sybrina Fulton told reporters at the National Bar Association's annual meeting. "My son wasn't doing anything wrong. He was simply walking home. He wasn't a suspect."
While Fulton spoke about her son, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, who was also at the news conference, remembered her daughter, Hadiya Pendleton, who was killed in a Chicago gang shooting.
"It's a nightmare, a walking nightmare, but we hold our heads high and get through it," Cowley-Pendleton said.
They spoke about gun violence at the National Bar Association's conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel Monday morning, as did the group's president, John Page.
George Zimmerman was acquitted this month of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin's 2012 death. Zimmerman said he acted in self-defense.
The not guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial has ignited a grassroots effort to overturn Florida's "Stand Your Ground" statute.
A recent poll by the conservative-leaning research firm Viewpoint Florida shows 50 percent of Floridians agree with the law. Thirty-one percent feel it should be changed or limited. Thirteen percent say "Stand Your Ground" should be repealed.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, has rejected calls for a special legislative session on "stand your ground" from protesters who have been occupying part of the Capitol in Tallahassee since Zimmerman was acquitted earlier this month by a jury in Sanford.
Senate President Don Gaetz, also a Republican, said Monday he agrees with Scott that there is no need for a special session. Gaetz said there is little agreement on whether change is needed to the "stand your ground" law and that voters have a chance in the 2014 elections to make their views known.
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"If people want to change the policymakers, if they want to change the policies, that's why we have elections," he said.
Part of the message of Monday's event was just that: urging people to register to vote and contribute to sympathetic politicians if they want such laws repealed. Page also said the legal system needs to do more to ensure that racially balanced juries are chosen.
"We need to raise our voices together and say, 'Enough,'" Page said. "This should be the first state where 'stand your ground' falls. And it will fall."
Although he was not part of the event, the Rev. Jesse Jackson appeared as a spectator. Like many, Jackson is urging Scott to call a special session.
"Eight states that were going to use stand your ground laws backed off since Trayvon's murder because of the public fighting back. I hope that people in this state will challenge their governor to make a decision to convene the Legislature," Jackson said.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Zimmerman may have committed a hate crime in killing Martin.
