Your words have been 'pathetically weak': Marco Rubio gets an earful at CNN town hall on Parkland shooting

CNN

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida listens to Fred Guttenberg during a CNN town-hall debate.

• The father of a Parkland school shooting victim criticized Rep. Sen. Marco Rubio during a CNN town-hall event.
• Rubio appeared to agree with the idea of enacting new gun measures, including raising the age limit to purchase AR-15-style rifles.
• But he stopped short of supporting a ban on assault-style weapons.

The father of a victim of the Parkland school shooting criticized Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida during a CNN town-hall event on Wednesday.

Fred Guttenberg's 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was one of the 17 people killed in the deadly February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

"I just listened to your opening, and thank you. I want to like you," Guttenberg said after Rubio gave his opening remarks. "Here's the problem - and I'm a brutally honest person so I'm just going to say it up front. When I like you, you know it, and when I'm pissed at you, you know it. Your comments this week and those of our president have been pathetically weak."

"You and I are now eye-to-eye. Cause I want to like you," Guttenberg continued. "Look at me and tell me guns were the factor in the hunting of our kids in this school this week, and look at me and tell me you accept it and you will work with us to do something about guns."

Rubio's next words were met with boos from the crowd.

"The problems that we are facing here today cannot be solved by gun laws alone," Rubio said.

"Were guns the factor in the hunting of our kids?" Guttenberg said.

"Of course they were," Rubio replied. "I absolutely believe that in this country, if you are 18 years of age, you should not be able to buy a rifle and I will support a law that takes that right away."

"Fantastic," Guttenberg said approvingly.

What Rubio can - and can't - support

Rubio then appeared to hint he could support some new restrictions on guns, including banning bump stocks, a device that can be added to a semi-automatic weapon to make it fire more rapidly. President Donald Trump on Tuesday directed the Justice Department to propose a ban on the devices, but many think a solution would need to come from Congress.

"I will support the banning of bump stocks," Rubio said. "I will support changing our background system so that it includes more information than it includes now, and that all states across the country are required or incentivized to report all the information into it."

Rubio then touched on a subject that appeared to be what Guttenberg was trying to push him to support - a ban on assault-style weapons.

"If I believe that that law would have prevented this from happening, I would support it," Rubio said amid shouts from the crowd. "But I want to explain to you why it would not."

"My daughter running down the hallway at Marjory Stoneman Douglas was shot in the back with an assault weapon," Guttenberg said. "The weapon of choice. OK? It is too easy to get. It is a weapon of war. The fact that you can't stand with everybody in this building and say that? I'm sorry."

Rubio appeared to agree with the danger that assault-style weapons posed and gave a few examples of problems with a proposed assault weapons ban, such as a wide range of other guns that would be banned due to the language of the bill.

"My belief remains, that rather than continue to try to chase every loophole that's created ... is we instead should make sure that dangerous criminals, people that are deranged cannot buy any gun of any kind," Rubio said.

"Your answer speaks for itself," Guttenberg said.

At least 17 people were killed after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used an AR-15-style weapon to gun down students and teachers at the high school. The Florida state legislature voted 71-36 to reject a measure to consider banning the sale of assault weapons on Tuesday.