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Zimmerman told a news station that it is time to move past the firearm. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

George Zimmerman(Photo: Seminole County Public Affairs via AP)

George Zimmerman tried a second time Thursday toauction off the firearm he used to kill 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012, but both gun-selling websites yanked the listing beforebidding was to beginon what Zimmerman described as a"piece of history."

A statement posted on the first websiteGunBroker.comsaid listings are user generated, and that the company reserved the right to reject any listing at itsdiscretion.

"Mr. Zimmerman never contacted anyone at GunBroker.com prior to or after the listing was created and no one at (the website) has any relationship with Zimmerman," the company wrote in its statement.

It added, "We want no part in the listing on our web site or in any of the publicity it is receiving."

Thelisting, which gotmore than 185,000 views, wasreplaced at mid-morning Thursdayby a message that said,without elaboration,"Sorry, but the item you have requested is no longer in the system."

Zimmerman told the Orlando Sentinel that GunBroker.comwas not "prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction of my firearm. It has now been placed with another auction house."

The new listing forthe Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm firearm was postedonunitedgungroup.com. That site apparently went down a few minutes later.

United Gun Group said in a statement Thursday night they pulled Zimmerman's listing from the site because the auction is not in the organization's best interest.

Our mission is to esteem the 2nd amendment and provide a safe and secure platform for firearms enthusiasts and law-abiding citizens; our association with Mr. Zimmerman does not help us achieve that objective," the organization wrote.

Zimmerman wrotein both listings thatthat he was"honored and humbled" to announce the sale of the weapon and set the bidding to start at $5,000. Similar firearmsnormally sellon the site for around $200.

"The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012," he wrote.

Zimmerman, 32, noted the Justice Department returned the weapon to him recentlyand it still bearsthe case numberwritten on it in silver permanent marker.

"This is a piece of American History," he wrote. "It has been featured in several publications and in current University text books."

Zimmerman, then a neighborhood watch volunteer,shot and killed Trayvonin February2012,in a confrontation as the unarmed teenager washeading back to a relative's house in Sanford, Fla.,after buying snacks at a convenience store.

A juryfound Zimmerman, who alleged that Trayvonwas trying to bash his head on the pavement during a struggle,not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, issued a statementThursdaythrough his lawyer, Benjamin Crump, saying a foundation in his son's name is focusing onending senseless gun violence and "has no commenton the actions of that person that murdered Trayvon."

In his listing, Zimmerman saidhe hadturned down several offers for the notorious firearm because the buyers planned touse it"in a fashion I did not feel comfortable with."

He claimed in his auction listing that the "Smithsonian Museum" in Washington, D.C., had expressed interest in buying the firearm, however, the Smithsonian Institution said Thursday on Twitter,"Wehave never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmermans firearm, and have no plans to ever collect or display it in any museums."

Instead, Zimmerman saidhe plannedto use the proceeds from the sale of the gun which he calledan "American Firearm Icon"to fight "Black Lives Matter" violence against law enforcement officers and to counter"Hillary Clinton's anti-firearm rhetoric." He also said money would be used to "ensure the demise of Angela Correy's (sic) persecution career." Corey was the special prosecutor appointed to investigate Martin's death.

In a conversation with Fox35 in Orlando, Zimmermansaid if he doesn't sell the firearm, it willgo in a safe and "never be used or seen again."

Zimmerman, who has had several run-ins with the law since the Martinshooting, including domestic abuse chargesand an alleged road rage incident,told Fox35that he has had death threats while in hiding and that it is"time to move past the firearm."

"What I have decided to do is not cower," he told the TV station. "I'm a free American. I can do what I want with mypossessions."

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