SANFORD, Fla. – Under the shade of an umbrella, in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Building in Sanford, Fla., an 11-year-old girl was doing an arts and crafts project.
The sixth-grader was cutting tiny emerald green silk ribbons and stapling them to pieces of paper that read, "Everyday people across the country are killed by gun violence."
"When I saw the news, I asked my mom about it," said Ndia Webb, a sixth-grader from Hillsborough County. George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 and jury selection for his second-degree murder trial began Monday.
Ndia, who attends Williams Middle Magnet School in Tampa, was among the half-a-dozen protesters who were in front of the courthouse Friday asking for an expansion on background checks for gun sales.
Sherri Gay, 41, a teacher, drove about two hours to bring her daughter Ndia to the courthouse , because she said the girl "has been feeling strongly about what happened to Trayvon for a while."
Ndia whose mom is African American and dad is Puerto Rican said that when she heard of Trayvon's death in the news on November she was "very, very sad."
The teary-eyed girl said that the idea that either one of her brothers -- a three and an 18-year-old -- would be shot dead in the street was "scary."
"What if they were the ones walking around looking suspicious? It could have been them shot dead. It could have been me," Ndia said. "No one should have to walk around with that fear."
There were no supporters of George Zimmerman in front of the courthouse Friday.