The Coalition To Stop Gun Violence did not get permission from Trayvon Martin’s family before releasing a dramatic ad Monday re-enacting his killing.
Joshua Horwitz, the coalition’s executive director, appeared Tuesday on MSNBC to discuss the ad, which argues against so-called “stand your ground” laws, and he said his group had not attempted to contact Martin’s family about the video.
“We did not. We have a lot of survivors on staff. We work with survivors every day. I got a lot of support from our survivors around the country, but this was a decision we made as our own and we think that it’s tastefully done and we think it’s an important place to show,” Horwitz said. “Obviously, we believe stand your ground should be repelled in the 26 states and the purpose of the video is show what the real results are of those laws.”
Benjamin Crump, a Florida attorney who represents Martin’s family, appeared on MSNBC Live with Horwitz and said he does not think Martin’s parents have watched the ad.
“Not that I’m aware,” said Crump. “It’s still emotional for them. Their son is gone and he is never coming back. So they have so much emotion tied to these things this they try to shy away from them.”
Watch a video of Horwitz and Crump’s appearance on MSNBC Live below.
Updated with video 12:11 PM.
