Sen. Rubio stuck in middle of bitter debate on guns
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he is looking for compromise when it comes to preventing school massacres, but people on both sides of the gun-control issue see less room for the middle ground he’s trying to occupy.
“He’ll talk about gun violence,” said Gary Mogensen, a 67-year-old retired Osceola County public school educator who joined about 20 protesters at Rubio’s Orlando office Tuesday. “He’ll talk about doing something, but at the end of the day he doesn’t act.”
As the protest unfolded, Rubio met with reporters at his Tallahassee office, explaining his school safety measures such as the STOP School Violence Act, which passed as part of the federal budget last week, and puts more than $1 billion into grants for security measures. He’s also sponsoring a “red flag” bill that would provide grants to states with laws allowing law enforcement to take guns from those deemed by a court to be mentally ill or a violent threat to themselves or others.
Florida passed a similar red flag bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott on March 9. The bill included other gun control measures, such as a three-day waiting period for all guns, increasing the age limit to buy a
rifle from 18 to 21 and a ban on bump stocks.
During a CNN town hall after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 dead, Rubio, RMiami, came out in favor of increasing the federal age limit for buying a rifle from 18 to 21. But he’s stopped short of pushing that proposal in Congress, angering gun control advocates.
“There’s not enough votes to pass it right now; a lot of people just don’t support it,” Rubio said. “We have limited time and political capital. I invested first in the things that I think we can get done because getting things done creates momentum to do more.”
At the CNN town hall, Rubio was roundly booed for defending the National Rifle Association, and signs at the March for Our Lives protests over the weekend blasted him for taking NRA funds, up to $3.3 million in total ads supporting his campaigns.
But Rubio also is facing criticism from gun rights advocates for supporting restrictions like increasing the age limit for rifles, something the NRA opposes.
The NRA has filed suit in federal court to stop the age limit from rising under the new Florida law.
Rubio encouraged gun rights proponents to get on board with his red flag bill as a way to help prevent more mass shootings.
“One of the single biggest threats to the Second Amendment is these mass shooters,” Rubio said. “Because if it weren’t for mass shootings and gun crime you wouldn’t see this outcry that’s been created because it’s awakening the conscience of a country.”
If Rubio’s efforts stop there, however, it’s unlikely to satisfy reinvigorated gun control advocates.
“He’s very wishy-washy in his stances, which is very shady,” said Mohammed Khan, a 19-year-old freshman at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland.