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WASHINGTON D.C. — Trayvon Martin’s mother testified on Tuesday before a Senate Committee that is examining ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws.

Sybrina Fulton made her first-ever appearance before Congress to tell them the Stand Your Ground laws send the wrong message and do not protect.

“As I think about this as a mother, and I think about how many kids walk to the store and how many kids now feel that they cannot be safe in their own community, I think about what kind of message we are sending as parents, as lawmakers, as elected officials,” she said.

Fulton’s son, Trayvon, was fatally shot in a confrontation with George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer.

The case brought attention to state Stand Your Ground laws, even though it wasn’t used in Zimmerman’s defense.

Such laws allow people to use deadly force if they believe their life is in danger.