UPDATED 10:10 p.m. ET: The second auction house unitedgungroup.com released a statement on Twitter saying it was de-listing Zimmerman's gun because it "[did] not think it was in the best interest of the organization" to continue the sale. You can see the website's full statement below.
UPDATED 4:20 p.m. ET: George Zimmerman has relisted the gun at unitedgungroup.com, according to the Orlando Sentinel. In a text message to the newspaper, Zimmerman said Gunbroker.com was not "prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction of my firearm. It has now been placed with another auction house."
UPDATED 12:45 p.m. ET: Gunbroker.com has taken the listing for George Zimmerman's gun off its website.
George Zimmerman announced Wednesday that he planned to auction off the gun he used to kill 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012. The auction, which you can find here listed on the site gunbroker.com, is set to start at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday with bidding beginning at $5,000. The gun is identified as a Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm handgun in the auction listing.
Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2013, told Florida TV station WOFL Fox 35 that he's using the auction to push back against advocates for stronger gun control, including Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. "She made comments that I should not have had a gun, which, legally, nothing stopped me or stops me currently from owning or possessing a firearm," he said, referencing a speech at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network in which Clinton said that "the man who killed Trayvon Martin should have never had a gun in the first place.”
Zimmerman also told WOFL Fox 35 that he doesn't care what critics think about his auction.
"They're not going to be bidding on it," he said, "so I couldn't care less about them ... This isn't going to influence the radicals."
Additionally, Zimmerman explained what he plans to do with the gun if he isn't able to sell it. "Otherwise, it's going in a safe for my grandkids, never to be used or seen again," he said.
He doesn't think that'll be a problem, though. He wrote that the gun is "a piece of American History" and that the Smithsonian was interested in it, though the museum denied this claim.
The Trayvon Martin Foundation released a statement about the sale through the Martin family's lawyer.
"The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States," Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, said in the statement. "We are laser focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person that murdered Trayvon. Please visit us at www.trayvonmartinfoundation.org to find out more about the work we are doing and how you can help."
The Trayvon Martin Foundation, George Zimmerman's attorney, and gunbroker.com did not immediately return Complex's request for comment.
