George Zimmerman: I Was ‘Always Armed’

George Zimmerman was armed the night he killed Trayvon Martin because he was almost always carrying a gun, he said in an interview with Fusion’s Derrick Ashong.

Whether he was going to the supermarket or the movies, Zimmerman said he was “always armed,” because he didn’t want his gun to be stolen from his home while he was out, and because he wanted to be ready in case he needed it.

“It was just a part of my daily routine, so I took it everywhere except for work and school,” he said.

According to Zimmerman, more people should carry guns.

“I think that the way our forefathers had it planned with the Second Amendment, it is exactly the way it should be,” he said. “I think those entitled to carry arms should carry arms. We do have the right to carry arms.”

Zimmerman indicated that he is not a supporter of gun control, and pointed to two states with more stringent gun control laws — New York and California — to prove his point.

“If you look at the crime statistics from there, there is a reason I believe that gun control isn’t working,” he said.

Zimmerman said he didn’t know the exact statistics, but crime rates in both states have fallen over the last decade.

California’s violent crime rate has dropped substantially since 1992, and according to the Public Policy Institute of California, it “reached a 45-year low in 2011,” before increasingly slightly last year.

Violent crime in New York dropped by 71 percent between 1993 and 2012, following a national trend. Criminologists have not reached a consensus as to why the crime rate has fallen nationally and in New York in particular.

More from Fusion’s Derrick Ashong interview with George Zimmerman:

Derrick Ashong: Why I Interviewed George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman Takes a ‘Christ-Like’ Approach to Critics

George Zimmerman on Claims He’s Racist: ‘I Don’t Defend Myself From Dragons’

George Zimmerman Says He’s ‘Absolutely’ a Victim and Never Reached Out to Trayvon Martin’s Family

Editor’s note: Fusion reached out to the Martin family and their attorney for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

@JaredGoyette is a digital news editor at Fusion.