Group: Auction of George Zimmerman gun will continue

Sale held on United Gun Group website

ORLANDO, Fla. – A pro-gun group said Friday that it supports George Zimmerman's efforts to sell the gun used in the Trayvon Martin shooting and will continue the auction on its website.

United Gun Group said it exists as a pro-2nd Amendment platform for law-abiding citizens to exercise their constitutional rights. 

"As a company, we respect and honor the Constitution of the United States of America, the judgments of our judicial system, and follow the rule of the law," the group said in a statement. "Unless the law has been violated, it is the intention of United Gun Group to allow its members to use any of the available features. While not always popular, this is where we stand.

"These are the principals this nation was founded on, and our goal is to do our part to defend liberty. We know that many lives have been forever impacted by the incident (on) February 26, 2012, and we’re truly sorry to the Martin family for their loss. We will have no further comment on the matter."

Bidding for the former neighborhood watch volunteer's gun went well into the millions of dollars Friday morning, though it was unclear if they were serious bids.

Another website, GunBroker.com, took down its auction of the gun on Thursday.

Hours later, United Gun Group tweeted that it would post Zimmerman's ad. The new link was posted, along with a statement from Zimmerman. The site calls itself a "social market place for the firearms community."

Bidding on the 9-mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol began at $5,000. By Friday morning, the site showed that bidding had surpassed $65 million. That bid, however, along with someone using the screen name "Racist McShootface," had been removed.  As of Friday afternoon, the highest bid was $485,000.

According to the United Gun Group, bidding on the gun will end by the middle of next week.

Martin was shot and killed by Zimmerman in an altercation in a Sanford community.

Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter on July 13, 2013.

The shooting sparked protests and a national debate about race relations.

Watch News 6 and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.


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