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George Zimmerman triggers heat by putting gun up for sale

Sanford police officer Timothy Smith holds up the gun June 28, 2013, that was used to kill Trayvon Martin in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla. The pistol George Zimmerman used in the fatal shooting of Martin is going up for auction online. (Joe Burbank / Associated Press)
By Stephanie Allen Orlando Sentinel
Sanford police officer Timothy Smith holds up the gun June 28, 2013, that was used to kill Trayvon Martin in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla. The pistol George Zimmerman used in the fatal shooting of Martin is going up for auction online. (Joe Burbank / Associated Press)

ORLANDO, Fla. – George Zimmerman’s first attempt to auction off the 9mm pistol he used to kill Trayvon Martin in 2012 sparked heated debate and was over before it ever began.

So he tried again. And controversy continued.

The Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol was put up for auction on unitedgungroup.com with a starting bid of $5,000.

No bids were placed as of late Thursday and it was unclear when the auction would end.

Zimmerman, a former Sanford Neighborhood Watch volunteer, told Orlando Sentinel news partner WOFL-Channel 35 that he just got the gun back from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“They took it after my trial, after I was exonerated,” he said.

Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of killing Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old. He said he was defending himself when he shot the teen during a struggle.

GunBroker.com, the first site he tried, disavowed the auction, saying it wants “no part in the listing on our website or in any of the publicity it is receiving.”

United Gun Group, however, said that as “long as Mr. Zimmerman (or any other UGG member) is obeying the letter of the law, his personal firearm sale will be permitted on our network.”

In his auction post, signed “Your friend, George M. Zimmerman,” he said the gun “currently has the case number (from the trial) written on it in silver permanent marker.”

He also said the “purchaser is guaranteed validity and authenticity of the firearm.”

The auction listing said the Smithsonian was interested in buying the gun to display in one of its museums because the gun is a piece of American history. Officials with the institute said that isn’t true.

“We have never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman’s firearm, and have no plans to ever collect or display it in any museums,” the Smithsonian said on Twitter.

In the listing, Zimmerman says a portion of the proceeds would go toward fighting alleged violence against law enforcement by the Black Lives Matter movement and to stop anti-firearm rhetoric made by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The proceeds will also help pay for efforts to end the career of Angela Corey, who led the prosecution against Zimmerman, according to the post.

Clinton indirectly responded with a tweet saying she’s thinking of Martin’s mother, followed by a link to the Trayvon Martin Foundation.

Martin’s family released a statement saying the foundation is focused on ending “senseless gun violence.”

“We are laser focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person that murdered Trayvon,” the statement reads.