March for Our Lives wages war on Marco Rubio

On stage in Washington, D.C., before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of rally-goers pushing for stricter gun control laws, student survivors of the Parkland, Fla., shooting called the Florida Republican out by name.

“I’m going to start off by putting this price tag right here as a reminder for you guys to know how much Marco Rubio took for every students’ life in Florida,” Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior David Hogg said at the beginning of his speech while tying a “$1.05” orange tag to the microphone.

The “$1.05” ticket was passed out on the street and was brandished by Hogg’s fellow students.

Another Parkland student, Sarah Chadwick, explained the significance of the “$1.05” figure during her speech. The junior told the crowd that taking 3,140,167, the number of students enrolled in Florida schools, and divide that number by 3,303,355, the dollar amount of money Rubio has reportedly received from the NRA, it comes out to $1.05.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Delaney Tarr at #MarchForOurLives rally: “We are here to call out every single politician…they know that if there is no assault weapons ban passed then we will vote them out.” https://t.co/W85oWVLpjA pic.twitter.com/i0SZFexIGr

— ABC News (@ABC) March 24, 2018

“Is that all we’re worth to these politicians? A $1.05? Would $17.85, all it cost you that day, Mr. Rubio?” Chadwick said, referring to the $1.05 figure multiplied by 17, the number of people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Valentines Day.

“Well I say one life is worth more than all the guns in America,” she added to cheers and applause. “This is not a red versus blue issue. This is a morals issue. And to the politicians that believe that their right to own a gun comes before our lives, get ready to get voted out by us. The future. We will not allow a price to be put upon our lives.”

Elsewhere, multiple signs held by March for Our Lives demonstrators had some less-than-flattering things to say about Rubio, including one that said the senator has “blood” on his hands.

Another attacked Rubio’s Catholic faith and featured hashtags like “#NRAbitch” and “#KidKiller”

After walking around the event in D.C., CNN and ABC News contributor Ana Navarro concluded: “these kids disdain [President] Trump, but they hate Marco Rubio like I hate frogs.”

Rubio wasn’t silent Saturday, however, and in a statement praised the demonstrators for exercising their right to free speech. “I commend those who today are peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights to march in favor of a gun ban,” he said. “While I do not agree with all of the solutions they propose, I respect their views and recognize that many Americans support certain gun bans.”

The senator noted that “many other Americans do not support a gun ban,” thus creating a need for compromise.

“[M]any other Americans do not support a gun ban. They too want to prevent mass shootings, but view banning guns as an infringement on the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens that ultimately will not prevent these tragedies,” Rubio said. “While protests are a legitimate way of making a point, in our system of government, making a change requires finding common ground with those who hold opposing views. Common ground is how we were able to achieve the STOP School Violence Act, improvements to our background check system, propelling CDC studies on gun violence and now, a ban on bump stocks. And finding common ground is what it will take to pass our red flag law so we can take guns away from dangerous people.”

“I’m going to start off by putting this price tag right here as a reminder for you guys to know how much Marco Rubio took for every student’s life in Florida,” Parkland survivor David Hogg says at #MarchForOurLives. pic.twitter.com/i54QSygI4C

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 24, 2018

Rubio, known for his relaxed stances on gun control, and support for the Second Amendment, has also taken action recently on the Senate floor, proposing a six-pronged plan that would address gun violence and prevent future school shootings. But the move may not quell the disquiet at home following the Parkland shooting. A poll released a few weeks ago showed 65 percent of Florida voters support “stricter gun laws.”

Rubio was confronted by a student who survived the shooting about whether he would keep taking donations from the NRA during a CNN town hall last month. The student asked Rubio three times, and each time, Rubio declined to answer. He instead argued, as some in the crowd tried to shout him down, that he doesn’t bend his agenda just because he gets money from certain groups.

Rubio’s statement Saturday was similar to the that of the White House, which praised the demonstrators and touted President Trump’s “top priority” of keeping children safe.

“We applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights today,” said White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Waters. “Keeping our children safe is a top priority of the President’s, which is why he urged Congress to pass the Fix NICS and STOP School Violence Acts, and signed them into law.”

Meanwhile Democrats embraced March for Our Lives, which many lawmakers appearing at events throughout the U.S.

“Today’s march should send a loud message to our leaders in Congress: The level of gun violence in America is not normal. It is not acceptable. And it is not inevitable,” said Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, echoing the rallying call of many of the student speakers during the day’s events.