Marco Rubio to Face Florida School Shooting Victims Calling For Gun Control at CNN Town Hall
Student from Stoneman Douglas addresses his senator, Marco Rubio:
“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.” pic.twitter.com/BJ3et4rKrI
— Axios (@axios) February 18, 2018
Sen. Marco Rubio has accepted Jake Tapper’s offer to partake in an upcoming CNN town hall with survivors of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — where a gunman opened fire on Wednesday, killing 17 and wounding more than a dozen others — have been appearing at rallies and on cable news since, calling on President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress to act on gun control.
Meanwhile, CNN announced it would be holding a televised town hall moderated by Tapper and featuring students from the school, parents and community members.
And Rubio — who has come under criticism from students of the school (watch above) for his cautionary rhetoric on the issue of gun control — accepted an invitation to the forum, announcing his participation on Twitter:
Thanks for invitation.Look forward to participating in this important forum.I want action too. Action that will make a difference. #Sayfie https://t.co/M7sZdZFpo7
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 18, 2018
“Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action” will air live on CNN at 9 p.m. EST next Wednesday, February 21, at the BB&T Center — some 15 miles from where the massacre took place.
Trump was also invited to CNN’s town hall. While he has yet to accept the invitation, he will be speaking with teachers and students from the school on Wednesday and discussing school safety with local officials, according to Axios.
That comes after a number of students railed against Trump’s refusal to mention gun control in the wake of the shooting, instead focusing his comments on mental health. One student, making the rounds on the Sunday shows, decried the president’s position, even telling Trump, “You sicken me.”
[image via screengrab]
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