At a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, students and parents alike grilled senators from Marco Rubio to Bill Nelson in search of answers to go about gun reform in the aftermath of last week’s shooting at a south Florida high school. The forum comes as student activists flock to the Florida legislature to lobby for gun control.
At one point, Fred Gutenberg, whose daughter Jamie was one of 17 people killed at Stoneman Douglas High School slammed Rubio’s and the president’s response to the tragedy as “pathetically weak,” a line welcomed with an ovation from the crowd of more than 7,000.
All that’s left after this exchange is a puddle of Marco Rubio, though still with an A+ rating from the NRA. pic.twitter.com/NDHvQCFhB1
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) February 22, 2018
“Senator Rubio – my daughter, running down the hallway, was shot in the back, with an assault weapon, the weapon of choice. It is too easy to get, it is a weapon of war. The fact that you can’t stand here and say that….I’m sorry.” pic.twitter.com/m8CetEB3PE
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) February 22, 2018
Rubio, who said that people under 18 years old shouldn’t own an assault rifle, argued that an outright ban on assault weapons would cause the government to “literally ban every semi-automatic rifle that’s sold in America,” drawing applause from the crowd.
“I absolutely believe that in this country if you are 18 years of age you should not be able to buy a rifle and I will support a law that takes that right away,” says Sen. Marco Rubio https://t.co/8TgNC9Car9 #StudentsStandUp https://t.co/uIBourszJJ
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 22, 2018
Rubio scores an own goal when he says the assault weapons ban “would literally ban every semi-automatic rifle that’s sold in America” and the crowd erupts in cheers pic.twitter.com/VfIqxCloyo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2018
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said on Wednesday night that he planned to introduce a ban on assault rifles next week. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced that she would introduce a bill that would raise the age limit of those who wanted to purchase assault rifles to 21, an idea that has already drawn support across the aisle from Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Rubio said on Wednesday night he would endorse legislation that did such that.
Rep. Ted Deutch: A lot of people have told this community that it's too soon to talk about getting weapons of war out of our communities. "It is not too soon, it is too late for the 17 lives that were lost." https://t.co/cIFakLEhbs #StudentsStandUp https://t.co/mXZlupfLAq
— CNN (@CNN) February 22, 2018
Earlier in the evening, Broward County Public Schools superintendent Robert Runcie told CNN’s audience that teachers didn’t need to be armed, a response it appears to Trump’s suggestion hours earlier that teachers should be able to carry firearms in school for protection if they received special training. “You know what we need,” Runcie told the applauding crowd. “We need to arm our teachers with more money in their pocket.”
Broward County superintendent Robert Runcie says “we don’t need to put guns in the hands of teachers. You know what we need. We need to arm our teachers with more money in their pocket” https://t.co/73MESyNZJv https://t.co/yS48VsUnJD
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 22, 2018
When asked about Trump’s comments at the White House about arming teachers, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) told CNN’s Jake Tapper that it was a “terrible idea.”
.@jaketapper: "President Trump suggested earlier today that he thought arming teachers might be an idea worth considering. Do you think it is?"
Sen. Bill Nelson: "I think it is a terrible idea" https://t.co/ORKKsjv8V1 #StudentsStandUp https://t.co/aOE7VnGkCr
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 22, 2018
In one particularly remarkable moment Rubio appeared to change his position on high capacity magazines, telling the crowd he was now open to banning them.
Chris Grady: “Would you agree that there is no place in our society for large capacity magazines?”
Rubio: I traditionally have not supported it, but “after this and some of the details I learned about it, I am reconsidering that position”#StudentsStandUphttps://t.co/BsDA1DrGwz— Deena Zeina Zaru 👩🏻💻 (@Deena_Zaru) February 22, 2018
Rubio pointedly refused however to promise not to take any NRA money.
The is the must-watch video of this moment: teenagers confronting politicians about the dark money flooding and corrupting politics https://t.co/9I5U3bliUv
— James West (@jameswest2010) February 22, 2018
