ORLANDO, Fla. – Civil rights activist Al Sharpton spoke at the NCAAP Convention in Orlando on Wednesday.
Sharpton says he plans to visit the capitol of Florida to begin lobbying against its controversial self-defense law prior to next month's march in Washington, D.C. by the NAACP.
Sharpton made his comments Wednesday during a speech on the final day of the NAACP's national convention in Orlando. Flanked by NAACP President Ben Jealous and Martin Luther King III, Sharpton called Florida's stand-your-ground law the "worst violation of civil rights in the country." He hopes to make Florida a test case for similar laws.
"We can not have our sons and daughters lives on the lines for anybody who wants to pursue them, follow them and kill them and say it was in self defense," said Sharpton. "We didn't come to argue the jury verdict the jury has spoken, but now the people are going to speak."
Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to the media as well.
"Trayvon Martin's death is symbolic of what's happening nationally there's a Trayvon in every town," Jackson said.
The comments came a day after Attorney General Eric Holder reiterated to the NAACP that the Justice Department has an open investigation into what he called the "unnecessary shooting" of teenager Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin's 2012 death.
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