Issue: Should Zimmerman Face Federal Charges in Trayvon Martin Case?

In 1992, when LAPD officers were acquitted in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, riots broke out.  Over the weekend, when George Zimmerman was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, peaceful rallies broke out nationwide, including ones in Balboa Park and City Heights.

“On that night in February, George Zimmerman took the law into his own hands, shot an innocent teenager, went to court and walked away unscathed,” U-T San Diego quoted a local NAACP official as saying.

Anger is now being channeled into petition drives.

One launched Sunday on MoveOn.Org was nearing its goal of 275,000 signatures. It called on the Justice Department to open a civil rights prosecution of Zimmerman. On the White House “We the People” site, a similar petition was nearing 15,000 signatures Monday morning.

A six-woman jury — after hearing a possibly poor prosecution case — found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder.

Should the Neighborhood Watch volunteer face federal charges?  Or should the government, and the public, accept the verdict and leave Zimmerman alone?  Share your thoughts in the comments.