Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Wednesday night dodged answering three questions regarding if he would take political contributions in the future from the National Rifle Association, in the wake of last week’s school shooting in his home state.
When pressed by Cameron Kasky, a student who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week, at a CNN town hall in Parkland, Fla., Rubio declined on multiple occasions to say whether he would accept future contributions. Instead, he insisted over the booing and groaning in the crowd that he does not buy into the agendas of outside organizations and that they instead have to support his.
Cameron Kasky, who survived the school shooting: “Sen. Rubio, can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA?”Rubio: “People buy into my agenda, and I do support the Second Amendment” #StudentsStandUp https://t.co/ucmVB74g1C— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 22, 2018
“People buy into my agenda. I do support the Second Amendment, and I also support the right of you and everyone here to be able to go to school and be safe,” Rubio said when asked if he would give up NRA donations. “And I do support any law that would keep guns out of the hands of a deranged killer. That’s why I support the things that I have stood for and fought for.”
“More NRA money?” Kasky followed up.
“That is the wrong way to look — first of all, people buy into my agenda,” Rubio said. “The influence of these groups comes not from money. The influence comes from the millions of people that agree with the agenda, the millions of Americans who support the NRA and who support gun rights.”
The NRA contributed $9,900 to Rubio’s 2016 election campaign.
Shortly after, Rubio said he will reconsider his position on the size of magazine clips, which was one of multiple firearm topics he is exploring. Earlier in the town hall, he said he believes no gun should be sold to people under 21 years of age and that teachers in schools should not be armed, a suggestion floated by President Trump in response to the shooting.
He came under immediate fire from attendees at the event who booed him, especially after one parent told him his response to the shooting was “particularly weak.”
