The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a group that advocates for stricter gun control laws, claimed Monday that George Zimmerman, the man who shot Trayvon Martin, still has his gun despite press reports to the contrary.
“One month after the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman still has his gun,” said group president Dan Gross in a press release. The statement then goes on to blame the National Rifle Association for laws that allowed Zimmerman to keep his weapon even after the shooting.
None of this appears to be true.
Last Friday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Zimmerman’s gun was taken by police and never returned in a story written to correct what the paper called the “great deal of misinformation” surrounding the case.
According to the article, police removed Zimmerman’s semiautomatic pistol from his holster after arriving on the scene. The weapon is now part of the official evidence in the case. (SEE ALSO: Herman Cain: ‘Swirling rhetoric,’ ‘war of words’ in Trayvon case must stop, facts are needed before rushing to judgment)
The paper also notes, however, that Zimmerman does continue to have a valid concealed-weapons permit.
A spokesperson for the Brady Campaign did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment.
UPDATE: The Brady Campaign sent this statement to TheDC Monday evening: “It has now been reported that the Sanford Police Department is in possession of the gun that George Zimmerman used to shoot Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, however, still has his concealed carry license and he still has the ability to buy a gun and carry it into public spaces.”