Few in Congress have been more involved in the gun violence debate following the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., massacre than Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Yet, despite his efforts, Rubio has also become the preferred punching bag for both sides, particularly the one that favors increased restrictive measures on gun owners. Gun controllers have accused the senator of putting a “price tag” on student lives, while others claim he has “offered nothing.”
There is worse where that comes from:
This #MarchForOurLives attacks Marco Rubio for his Catholic faith and draws a blood cross on his forehead. pic.twitter.com/4zrhlkQreN
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) March 24, 2018
It’s fine to disagree with the senator’s efforts. Feel free to argue that his ideas are backwards or ineffective. But saying he has done “nothing” following the Parkland shooting spree, which claimed the lives of 17 high school students, is as absurd as saying he profits from each death.
The general tenor of the anti-Rubio rhetoric has reached such a pitch, in fact, that a CNN host felt compelled to ask gun control activists Monday whether they’ve been getting a bit over their skis with their criticisms.
“I’m not a Marco Rubio spokesperson,” Alisyn Camerota said in an interview with two Parkland high school students. “But now that I’ve heard what he’s doing behind the scenes — he’s sponsoring all of these various bills, two of which were part of the omnibus, and so things are happening.”
The most interesting thing here isn’t the fact that someone in the press is finally asking a few of the Parkland teens to defend their positions, but that the questioning comes from a CNN host who herself very recently accused Rubio of inaction on gun violence.
Remember: Camerota suggested earlier this month that Rubio’s sponsorship of a recent Daylight Saving Time bill suggested he wasn’t interested in addressing the gun safety issue. As I noted at the time, her broadside came just two days after the senator testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain several new anti-gun violence measures put forward by his office. Maybe Camerota reads the Washington Examiner. She is singing a different tune now.
She even issued a sort of apology this weekend, admitting, “I mis-characterized Senator Rubio as not being focused on gun violence since Parkland. I failed to mention that, in fact, there has been a lot that he has been doing behind the scenes.”
Characterizing his post-Parkland actions, which include publicly supporting legislation aimed at curbing gun violence and even appearing on a CNN-hosted town hall addressing this issue, as “behind the scenes” is curious, but let’s take what we can get.
On Monday, Camerota continued with the clarifications.
“All I’m suggesting is maybe your ire is misplaced,” she told the Parkland teens. “Since he is actually trying to work across the aisle.”
The pro-gun control activists maintained their position that Rubio is incapable of doing anything good or useful regarding gun violence until he disavows the National Rifle Association.
“So long as he’s supported by the NRA, no matter what he does, there’s always going to be loopholes in anything he does,” one of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas students said.
Meanwhile, Rubio is co-sponsoring a “red flag” bill with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., which would enable individuals to file gun restraining orders “to remove firearms from potentially violent individuals.” The senator also backed recent legislation aimed at overhauling the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Rubio also got behind the STOP School Violence Act. Both measures were signed into law last Friday.
These are just three components to a six-part plan for addressing gun violence introduced by Rubio shortly after the Parkland slayings.
Full disclosure: This author is a paid contributor with CNN/HLN.
