The man who shot and killed teen Trayvon Martin has put the gun up for auction

This leaves a disgusting taste in your mouth.

The gun that was used to kill American teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 is being auctioned off by the man who shot him. George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in 2013, sparking mass civil rights protests that have continued to this day, and now he's advertising the firearm online as "your opportunity to own a piece of American history". Martin, 17, was unarmed when the neighbourhood watchman claimed to have acted in self-defence during patrol inside a gated community in Sanford, Florida. The one-day online auction for the 9mm pistol opens at 11:00 EDT (15:00 GMT) on Thursday, with an opening bidding price set at $5,000 (£3,464). The listing is captioned: "The firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin". [caption id="attachment_58839" align="alignnone" width="594"] George Zimmerman in court[/caption] The gun Zimmerman refers to as an "American icon" was only recently returned to him by the US Department of Justice, and he said the GunBroker.com sale would help raise funds to fight "Hillary Clinton's anti-firearm rhetoric". He was questioned by Florida television channel WOFL about what his response would be to people opposed to the sale, to which he replied: "They're not going to be bidding on it, so I couldn't care less about them.'' Trayvon Martin's brutal killing and its aftermath gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as a foundation that campaigns in his memory. His family said they would not "comment on the actions of that person". In a statement to the media, they said: "The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States." People have taken to Twitter to express their own views about the disturbing decision to accept bids for the gun that caused so much irreparable heartache. https://twitter.com/SuppressThis/status/730602888666460160 https://twitter.com/jamaiya_miller/status/730596012775989248 https://twitter.com/Delo_Taylor/status/730594364947369984 https://twitter.com/scottEweinberg/status/730591162411651073