‘Your job is to protect us,’ students tell senator
WASHINGTON • He has been sharply criticized by grieving students and trolled in the air and on the ground. In return he has blasted the news media while trying to navigate one of the most polarizing issues in politics.
The Parkland tragedy has put Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in the spotlight over comments he has made about the effectiveness of gun laws and the significant financial support he has received from the NRA — more than US$3 million in contributions to his campaigns or through outside groups.
“It’s not our job to tell you, Sen. Rubio, how to protect us,” Cameron Kasky, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “The fact that we even have to do this is appalling. Our job is to go to school, learn and not take a bullet. You need to figure this out. That’s why you were unfortunately elected. Your job is to protect us and our blood is on your hands.”
On Saturday, a plane flew over Miami Beach with a banner that read, “Shame on you Marco Rubio & NRA.” An activist group is driving around Miami with three trucks with electronic billboards — a nod to the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — asking why there is no gun control and calling out Rubio.
He has pushed back while also seeking a response to the tragedy, indicating he supports “red flag” legislation at a state level that aims to prevent violent people from obtaining guns. He’s also talked of improving the background-check process.
“I am now more convinced than ever that there are changes we can make that can help prevent or reduce the number of mass shootings in our country. And I am more committed than ever to getting it done,” Rubio said after visiting the Parkland school Saturday. But palpable anger remains directed at Rubio and other prominent politicians backed by the gun lobby.
Rubio has earned A- plus ratings from the NRA and has spoken at the group’s events. The financial support he received got widespread attention on social media after the shooting, with many commentators referring to it as “blood money.”
On Wednesday, Rubio has a chance to address those critics when he participates in a CNN town hall on the shooting. “Thanks for the invitation,” he wrote on Twitter. “Look forward to participating in this important forum. I want action too. Action that makes a difference.”