George Zimmerman to auction gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin & donate funds to fight against Black Lives Matter

George Zimmerman, the former US Army man who shot to notoriety after killing African American teen Trayvon Martin in February 2012, is making headlines once again.

Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the murder case, has listed the gun, that he used to kill Trayvon with, for auction on GunBroker.com. He has described the auction as "your opportunity to own a piece of American history", The Guardian reported.

Zimmerman listed "the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin" on GunBroker.com on 12 May, with bidding scheduled to begin at 11AM EDT. The gun, a Kel-Tec PF-9mm, was billed as a "collectible firearm" and had a starting price of US$5,000, The Guardian reported.

In the item description tab, Zimmerman said the gun had been recently returned to him by the Department of Justice. He said that it was fully functional. The listing was illustrated by photos of the weapon taken during Zimmerman's trial.

"Many have expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm including the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. This is a piece of American history. It has been featured in several publications and in current university text books. Offers to purchase the firearm have been received; however, the offers were to use the gun in a fashion I did not feel comfortable with," The Guardian quoted Zimmerman as saying.

Zimmerman was quoted by The Guardian saying that he was "proud to announce" that a portion of the proceeds raised would be used to "fight BLM [Black Lives Matter] violence against Law Enforcement officers" as well as ending the career of Angela Corey, his prosecutor - "and Hillary Clinton's anti-firearm rhetoric".

The killing of Trayvon and Zimmerman's subsequent acquittal in the case sparked off a nationwide debate about race relations.

According to The Guardian, the Trayvon Martin foundation, set up after the youth's death to "end senseless gun violence", said it had "no comment on the actions of that person".

The auction ends on Friday. Zimmerman is a verified member of GunBroker.com and listed his location as Sanford, Florida.

The 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin

Zimmerman, a Neighbourhood Watch coordinator, shot and killed Martin in February 2012 after a violent altercation in a Sanford housing community.

In a police call minutes before the killing, Zimmerman said he could see "a real suspicious guy" in the neighbourhood who "looks like he is up to no good".

The African-American teenager, who was unarmed, was returning from a convenience store. Zimmerman was not initially charged, until protests spread around the country demanding a full investigation.

He successfully argued at a murder trial that he had acted in self-defence and was acquitted in July 2013. In February 2015 the federal justice department said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the 32-year-old for hate crimes, The Guardian reported.