Local News
Trayvon
Parents Speak
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parents that "we got your back," as Rep.
Andre Carson, D-Indiana, put it.
"We see so clearly a case of racial profil-
ing," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York,
who mentioned he is also dealing with the
New York City police force's stop-and-frisk
policies.
The parents drew many onlookers who
lined a wall and waited for the meeting's
end for a chance at a glimpse of the parents.
At a news conference following the
forum, Fulton had to pause and fight back
emotions before telling reporters she was
looking to the congressional members for
help. Asked about a a bounty issued by the
The parents' attorney, Ben Crump, said
the negative reports that are being
leaked about Martin are making
Zimmerman look like the victim and
Trayvon as the suspect
Black Panthers for Zimmerman, Fulton said
"we want this done peaceful. We want you
to protest. We want you to rally. We want
this done peaceful."
The Orlando Sentinel has reported that
Zimmerman told police that he and Martin
exchanged words before the teen punched
him in the nose and began banging his head
on the ground. He says he cried out for help.
Martin's parents said their son made the
pleas for help.
Witness accounts differ, and 911 record-
ings in which the voices are heard are not
clear.
The parents' attorney, Ben Crump, said
the negative reports that are being leaked
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
their independent investigation."
At a news conference after the forum,
Martin and Fulton renewed their calls for
justice in their son's death. When asked
whether he thought his son's death was a
hate crime, Martin said: "Yes, I believe he
was racially profiled." The family's attor-
ney, Benjamin Crump, said racial profiling
also was a factor in the way the police con-
ducted their investigation.
Several members of Congress have called
for the case to be investigated as a hate
crime. Another attorney for the Martin fam-
ily, Daryl D. Parks, has said that statements
from Department of Justice officials in a
meeting
with Mar-
tin's parents
make clear
that getting
hate crime
charges is
going to be
a challenge.
Martin
was black.
Zimmerman's father is white and his moth-
er is Hispanic.
Tuesday's session was not an official
House Judiciary hearing, so no votes or for-
mal action could occur. The committee's
ranking Democrat, Rep. John Conyers of
Michigan, said the meeting was intended to
be a discussion of racial profiling, hate
crime laws and Florida's Stand Your Ground
law, which eliminated a person's duty to
retreat when threatened with serious bodily
harm or death.
But much of the discussion revolved
around criticism of the police investigation,
the failure to arrest Zimmerman, Zimmer-
man's actions, and reassurances to Martin's
Hundreds of people turned out to a rally and march to celebrate the life
of Trayvon Martin, March 25 at the Greater Mt. Baker Baptist Church. The
overflow crowd in the church joined hundreds of people outside for a
march to The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park.
about Martin are making Zimmerman look
like the victim and Trayvon as the suspect.
Martin's parents initiated the campaign to
draw national attention to their son's death
with an online petition calling for Zimmer-
man's arrest. Their son's death quickly
caught fire through social media and then
drew national media focus. His parents have
since attended rallies in Florida and
appeared on national television shows.
Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker John
Boehner said "clearly what happened is in
fact a tragedy," but he steered clear of call-
ing for Zimmerman's arrest as some law-
makers have done. "It's being investigated
by state and federal officials, which I think
is appropriate," said Boehner, R-Ohio.
-----
Associated Press writer Stacy A. Ander-
son contributed to this report
"It's just one small step removed from
them saying, here are the guns lying around
the house; here, take one," he said.
The boy was visiting his mother, who
does not have custody, when he took the
handgun, which belongs to Bauer, authori-
ties said. The boy was reportedly planning
on running away and took the gun for pro-
tection. He pleaded guilty last week to reck-
less endangerment and was sentenced to
probation and counseling. He is expected to
testify in the case against his mother.
The school shooting was the first of three
child shootings in three weeks in western
Washington.
Last Saturday, the 7-year-old daughter of
an off-duty Marysville police officer was
accidentally shot and killed when a sibling
found the officer's gun as the children were
left alone in a van parked near the Stanwood
City Hall.
On Wednesday, a 3-year-old accidentally
killed himself when he found his father's
gun under a car seat after the family had
stopped for gas in Tacoma and the parents
were out of the car.
domestic violence, has been reauthorized
several times and this year has 58 co-spon-
sors - two senators short of the 60 needed to
overcome a filibuster. The co-sponsors
include five Republicans: Sens. Scott
Brown of Massachu-
setts, Susan Collins of
Maine, Mike Crapo of
Idaho, Lisa Murkows-
ki of Alaska and
Olympia Snowe of
Maine. Also signed
onto the bill is Repub-
lican Sen. Mark Kirk
of Illinois, who is on
leave recovering from
a stroke.
This year's update has run into opposition
from Republicans who object to new provi-
sions, such as one that includes gay and
transgender victims in the protections.
Republicans also object to a provision
regarding visas for immigrant victims.
The measure also would give Native
American tribes authority to prosecute non-
Indians who commit violence against
American Indian women, which raises con-
cern among some opponents about giving
tribal courts increased power over defen-
dants who are not tribal members. In 1978,
the Supreme Court ruled that tribes do not
have authority over people who are not
American Indian, even when the crime
takes place on a reservation and involves a
member of a tribe.
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Gun
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home as a convicted felon and the second
for allowing her son access to a gun. Bauer,
50, is charged with one count of allowing
access.
Chaffin and Bauer both pleaded not
guilty Thursday.
Chaffin was arrested during the court
appearance and led away in handcuffs.
She was being held on $50,000 bail as a
convicted felon. She has a history of drug-
related offenses, Hauge said.
Bauer has no prior record and was
released without bail. Both are due back
in court March 21.
Bauer's lawyer, Wayne Fricke, told the
judge the assault charge was a "novel appli-
cation of the law," the Kitsap Sun reported.
It is unusual to bring the unlawful posses-
sion charge for enabling access to a weapon,
Hauge said, adding that there were at least
It is unusual to bring
the unlawful possession
charge for enabling
access to a weapon
three other loaded guns in the home.
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reserved. This material may not be pub-
lished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Learn more about our Privacy Policy and
Terms of Use.
Women
continued from page 1
violence.
While grappling for a way to rebut the
"war on women" narrative, Republicans
said the legislation at issue would add
objectionable measures to violence against
women law.
Two weeks ago, Republicans narrow-
ly lost a Senate vote on trying to reverse
President Barack Obama's directive
that health insurers pay for the cost of
birth control pills or devices even if
they object on moral or religious
grounds.
Republicans criticized Democrats for
making a scene Thursday on the Senate
floor without having so much as sched-
uled a vote. Senate Republican leader Mitch
McConnell complained that the issue dis-
tracted from a small business bill that could
create jobs.
"Their plan isn't to work together to make
it easier to create jobs but to look for ways
to make it easier to keep their own, then use
it for campaign ads in the run-up to the
November elections," said McConnell, who
Republicans said the legislation at
issue would add objectionable
measures to violence against women
law
has voted for the Violence Against Women
Act in the past.
The act, which would add government
funding and legal muscle to the fight against
March 28, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3