NRA criticizes media for Trayvon coverage

• Tweet

ST. LOUIS, April 15 (UPI) -- A senior National Rifle Association official at the organization's annual meeting in St. Louis accused the media of sensationalizing Trayvon Martin's killing.

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, said Saturday news organizations have singled out one killing, but ignore other violent crimes that occur every day in the United States, The New York Times reported Sunday.

"You manufacture controversy for ratings," LaPierre said. "You don't care about the truth, and the truth is the national news media in this country is a national disgrace, and you all know it."

"By the time I finish this speech, two Americans will be slain, six women will be raped, 27 of us will be robbed, and 50 more will be beaten," he added.

George Zimmerman, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., Feb. 26, as the 17-year-old was walking from a convenience store to the home of his father's girlfriend.

Zimmerman, whose father is white and mother is Hispanic, told police he shot the unarmed black teen in self-defense under the state's Stand Your Ground law. The NRA has been a staunch supporter of the law enacted in more than two dozen states across the country, the Times said.