On Friday, President Barack Obama surprised reporters in the White House briefing room by delivering his first public remarks on the death of Trayvon Martin since Zimmerman’s acquittal. In comments that touched not only on the racial elements of the shooting, but on the broader issue of racial profiling, Obama said Trayvon Martin could have been him as a young man. Obama announced no policy changes or actions in response to Zimmerman’s acquittal. But he questioned the “Stand Your Ground” laws that delayed Zimmerman’s arrest and were included in jury instructions.

President Obama: “For those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these Stand Your Ground laws, I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.”