500 at N. Amityville rally for Trayvon Martin

Forty days after the killing of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer, about 500 people marched in North Amityville Saturday in hopes of avoiding more bloodshed.

Organizers said they wanted to give people a way to show their support for the Martin family, but the rally also focused attention on Florida's controversial, sweeping self-defense law known as "Stand Your Ground."

"No one wants to raise a child in this world and know their life could be cut short for no reason," said Louise Tolbert, of Massapequa, as she held her 8-year-old grandson.

The rally organized by the Ministerial Alliance of North Amityville and Vicinity, representing 30 churches, featured a march a few blocks along Great Neck Road, from Hollywood Baptist Cathedral to Bolden Mack Park.

"We all got a right to live and we all ought to follow the Second Commandment: Love thy brother as thy self," said David Smith, of Amityville, a motorcycle-riding deacon at Hollywood Baptist.

Two petitions were circulated: one to be sent to the Florida Legislature, seeking a review of the self-defense law; the other bound for the New York Senate, seeking assurances it won't join more than 20 other states that have enacted such a law.

A voter-registration drive was also held "to ensure people . . . understand how democracy works in a nonviolent fashion," said Pastor Roy Kirton of Copiague's Circle of Love Ministry.

"It's the law that's evil here," Kirton said. "We assemble not because Trayvon was a person of color but because he was a part of humanity."

Martin, 17, was fatally shot Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman inside a gated community in Sanford, Fla., while he was visiting his father.

Zimmerman, 28, an insurance underwriter and college student, has not been charged, sparking outrage nationwide.

Zimmerman, who maintains he acted in self-defense, is a white Hispanic; Martin was black. The Justice Department is investigating the case, and a Seminole County, Fla., grand jury is considering possible charges.

Early in the investigation, the Sanford Police Department requested an arrest warrant from the state attorney's office, the special prosecutor appointed in the case has said. The initial police report categorized the case as "homicide/negligent manslaughter."