President Barack Obama made his first public comments on the Trayvon Martin killing on Friday morning, staying clear from commenting on Florida’s controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law or offering any observations on racism in America.
Mr. Obama spoke directly to Trayvon’s parents saying that it is a tradegy and that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon.
“Obviously this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through,” he said. “When I think about this boy 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 every aspect of this…”
Mr. Obama said that “all of us have to do some soul searching” to determine how something like this happened.
“But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon. If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon,” he said. “I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and we will get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”
Mr. Obama declined to wade into the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, but did note that Florida’s Governor Rick Scott had established a task force to review the law, once the investigation is completed.
The president also did not delve into discussing the matter of racism in America, which many believe led to the fatal shooting of Martin, 17, an unarmed black teen by a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, on February 26 in a gated community in Sanford.
