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MANHATTAN A firm belief in God and in working for public dialogue on racial profiling and senseless gun violence helped Sybrina Fulton move forward following the death of her son, Trayvon Martin.

That was part of Fultons message to hundreds of students Tuesday evening at the K-State Student Union in Manhattan.

Fulton said in no uncertain terms her sons death was needless, and Americans of all races and ethnicities need to have difficult conversations about such topics as gun violence and preconceptions about others based on the color of their skin.

What happened to Trayvon? Trayvon went to the store, Fulton said, to get a drink and candy. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm sure a lot of you walk to the store to get a drink and candy.

As an African-American, I know that racial profiling still exists, she said. It's a very uncomfortable subject.

Fultons son was 17 when he was killed in a 2012 shooting in Florida that sparked an intense national debate over whether George Zimmerman, 28, had pursued Martin and killed him for racially motivated reasons, or whether Zimmerman had defended himself from an attack.

Zimmerman was acquitted at trial in 2013.

The national debate focused on whether the incident reflected racism and racial profiling, as well as on Floridas Stand Your Ground law.

This law does not benefit anyone, Fulton said of the law that her state passed in 2005. It gives people a right to shoot and kill and ask questions later.

Fulton urged students to educate themselves about Kansas own Stand Your Ground law. But she also said, in response to a students question, she didnt oppose gun ownership.

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Trayvon Martin's mother: Educate yourself about gun law