In response to pressure from Trayvon Martin’s supporters, who threatened to make their votes count in November, President Barack Obama finally made a statement on the murder case that has dominated the nation’s headlines.
17-year-old Trayvon Martin was unarmed and carrying a bag of Skittles candy on Feb. 26th when he was shot to death by a racist neighborhood watch volunteer who claimed self-defense.
President Obama made a brief statement about Trayvon in the White House’s Rose garden this morning. Obama had been criticized for remaining silent on the murder case even though he called Sandra Fluke to express his concern after the law student was attacked by Rush Limbaugh, who called her a “slut” on the air.
From the Huffington Post:
Obama was careful not to get too far ahead of events. He said he was wary of “impairing” an ongoing legal process but praised the fact that federal, state and local law enforcement are now working together on Martin’s death.
“Obviously, this is a tragedy,” he said. “I can only imagine what these parents are going through, and when I think about this, I think about my own kids, and I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and everybody aspect of this, and that everybody pulls together — federal, state and local — to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.”
He went on.
“I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen,” said Obama. “And that means we examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.”
Watch a video of President Obama’s statement after the break.
