It's been more than 11 years since Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teenager was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida.

His father, Tracy Martin, says not enough progress has been made to stop gun violence. On Tuesday, he took part in a panel discussion on Capitol Hill about how to address this issue.

What You Need To Know

  • Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin and an activist against gun violence took part in a panel discussion on Capitol Hill about how to address the issue
  • Martin was in Washington Tuesday to join a panel discussion hosted by Democratic Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson and the Caucus on the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys to discuss solutions to preventing gun violence
  • At the federal level, Martin is advocating for a stricter screening process for people purchasing guns, making firearms less accessible to young people, and restricting the number of guns someone may purchase at one time

  • President Joe Biden signed federal gun reform legislation following mass shootings last year at a Buffalo, New York grocery store and at a school in Uvalde, Texas

Martin co-founded the Trayvon Martin Foundation to prevent gun violence after his unarmed son was shot by George Zimmerman, a man who claimed to be acting in self-defense.

Martin says he believes federal action is needed to save lives. 

"I don't think enough progress has been made, simply because, you know, day-in, day-out, we have numerous shootings," Martin said. "We have mass shootings; we have shootings in malls, shootings in schools, shootings in churches."

Martin was in Washington Tuesday to join a panel discussion hosted by Democratic Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson and the Caucus on the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys to discuss solutions to preventing gun violence.

"I want you to refer to me as Frederica 'Prevention' Wilson because that's what I do," the Florida lawmaker said. "And that's what I believe in, and, there are so many people who are not able to grasp what prevention actually means." 

At the federal level, Martin is advocating for a stricter screening process for people purchasing guns, making firearms less accessible to young people, and restricting the number of guns someone may purchase at one time. 

Fellow panelist Adzi Vokhiwa, federal affairs director at gun control advocacy group Giffords, also called for a "comprehensive" approach. 

"So often in the media when we hear about gun violence, it's about a mass shooting or about a school shooting, and the conversation is, well, what bill, what policy would have stopped this?" Vokhiwa said. "Is it an assault weapon ban? Is it background checks? Is it something about domestic violence? And I think the answer is always all of those things." 

President Joe Biden signed federal gun reform legislation following mass shootings last year at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store and at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

Martin criticized recent moves by the state of Florida, which recently approved a permitless concealed carry law. 

"Statewide, not much has changed. I think that we've gone backward a little bit as far as gun laws, gun control," Martin said.