Trayvon Martin would be 18 today; his mother still aims to change 'Stand Your Ground' laws

theGRIO REPORT - On the night before what would have been her son Trayvon Martin’s 18th birthday, Sybrina Fulton was focused on the full schedule ahead of her...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Ben Crump, an attorney for the family, says there are five state lawmakers – four Democrats and one Republican – currently sponsoring versions of a Trayvon Martin Law in the Florida legislature, including the State Senate leader, Chris Smith. And he said the Florida Supreme Court is reviewing the Stand Your Ground provision, and whether its use by defendants can or should be limited.

Fulton says her son’s killing has forced her to learn more about the laws that have so much bearing on the outcome of the case. But for now: “we’re just focused on speaking to other families who are victims as well.”

The foundation consumes Fulton’s time, but hasn’t taken her focus off her son. She said she doesn’t look at the past year through the lens of an advocate.

“I just see it as a mom,” she says. “I can’t say that I see it through anybody else’s eyes, I can only see it through my eyes, and that’s as a mother.”

Fulton said her older son, Jahvaris Fulton, 22, took a semester off college last year, but returned to Florida International University last month. “He’s coping with it,” she said of Jahvaris, who keeps a picture of himself and Trayvon as his Facebook profile image, and one of himself and his mom as his avatar on Twitter, where he goes by Jahvaris_Martin.

“He’s trying to deal with it as well,” Fulton says of Jahvaris. “I mean it’s hard for everybody that’s around the situation to see what’s going on, and to just have to really wait and see what the court system is going to do.”

“My family initially was strong, so this has made my family even stronger, because we lean on each other,” Fulton says, adding that the loss of her son “certainly has made us stronger and more aware of the laws: I mean prior to this I had not heard of ‘Stand Your Ground.’”

“It’s also seeing the support,” she says, “and also the negative that’s coming out of this as well, because not everybody are against ‘Stand Your Ground.’ — you have some people that are for ‘Stand Your Ground.’” The family say they have seen the best and worst of public reactions to Trayvon’s killing, “and it’s blatant, “ Fulton says of the attacks on her family, her attorneys, and her late son.

“A lot of it is just blatant, so we’re just learning as we go through.”

Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @TheReidReport.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE