Zimmerman gun bids reach $65M on second auction site

LAKE MARY, Fla., May 13 (UPI) — Bidding for the handgun George Zimmerman used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin in 2012 topped $65 million after Zimmerman moved the sale to a new auction site.

Zimmerman moved the auction to United Gun Group, an online firearms marketplace, on Thursday after it was rejected by Gunbroker.com. The starting bid of 5,000 quickly escalated to $65 million by 6 a.m. Friday

CNN reported United Gun Group initially put out a statement it would pull the auction, but later said it would give it more consideration. Todd Underwood, United Gun Broker founder, said it would release an official response by 10 a.m. Friday.

“We may still run it,” Underwood said.

Zimmerman, 32, was acquitted of manslaughter and murder charges after Trayvon’s February 2012 shooting, sparking a nationwide debate over Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” laws and race relations.

In the online listing, Zimmerman called the weapon an “American Firearm Icon.”

He said his gun is “fully functional as the attempts by the Department of Justice on behalf of B. Hussein Obama [President Barack Obama] to render the firearm inoperable were thwarted by my phenomenal defense attorney.”

Zimmerman said the sale date marked the one-year anniversary he was allegedly shot by Matthew Apperson during a dispute.

He said a portion of the proceeds would be used to “fight [Black Lives Matter] violence against law enforcement officers, ensure the demise of Angela [Corey’s] persecution career and Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric. “

Corey was appointed special prosecutor by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to investigate Martin’s death.

Gunbroker said it pulled the auction because, “We want no part in the listing on our web site or in any of the publicity it is receiving.”

“Listings on the GunBroker.com web site are user-generated, exactly like social media posts,” the company said. “Mr. Zimmerman never contacted anyone at GunBroker.com prior to or after the listing was created and no one at GunBroker.com has any relationship with Zimmerman. Our site rules state that we reserve the right to reject listings at our sole discretion, and have done so with the Zimmerman listing.”

Zimmerman said the auction was removed from Gunbroker because it was not “prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction of my firearm.”