‘Morning Joe': Father of Parkland Shooting Victim Will Hug Marco Rubio If He Does ‘the Right Thing’ (Video)
Fred Guttenberg recounts going toe-to-toe with Florida senator
Jennifer Maas | February 22, 2018 @ 8:53 AM
Last Updated: February 22, 2018 @ 8:58 AM
Fred Guttenberg appeared on “Morning Joe” Thursday to say he is ready to play nice with Senator Marco Rubio — if he finally listens to him, that is.
The father of 14-year-old Parkland shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg faced off with the Florida senator while discussing gun control at a CNN town hall Wednesday — a topic that hits veryclose to home for the grieving father.
Guttenberg, who described his late daughter as “tough as nails,” called Rubio’s response to the Feb. 14 shooting a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School “pathetically weak.” Rubio was booed when he refused to say he would reject NRA campaign cash and these shootings would not be solved by gun laws alone.
“Here is what I need, and I said last night to Senator Rubio, I’m just a brutally honest person for better or for worse. And the truth is, if they stand with us and do the right thing I’m going to throw my arms around him and tell him I love him,” Guttenberg told “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. “And I’ll do it to all the others as well.”
“I need them to be honest,” Guttenberg continued. “I need them to say the truth, which is these kids these teachers, they were killed by a weapon of war in their school. These weapons of war need to be removed from the streets. My heart is big because of friends of mine who have been life long NRA members who are sending me pictures of their cut up NRA cards. And it needs to start there. These politicians need to stop doing the wrong thing because of money they are receiving from that group. Some people stand with the NRA, I stand with MSD, which is Marjory Stoneman Douglas.”
Watch the full interview above.
Mass Shootings in America That Horrified All of Us (Photos)
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.
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Washington D.C. — A former Navy reservist shot and killed 12 people on September 16, 2013, at a military facility. The gunman was killed.
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Tyrone, Mo. - On Feb. 27, 2015, Joseph Jesse Aldridge killed seven people — four of them relatives — in a door-to-door shooting spree before killing himself.
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Waco, Tex. - Nine people were killed and many more were injured after two biker gangs began firing at each other at a motorcycle club on May 17, 2015.
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Charleston, S.C. - Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during a racially motivated shooting in a predominantly African-American church on June 17, 2015.
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Chattanooga, Tenn. - A gunman named Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez entered two military facilities on July 16, 2015, and killed four Marines and injured others, before he was killed.
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Umpqua, Ore. - On October 1, 2015, Chris Harper Mercer killed nine people and injured seven to nine more at Umpqua Community College before two police officers shot him. Mercer then committed suicide.
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San Bernardino, Calif. - 14 people were killed and another 21 injured after Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party on December 2, 2015. The pair were later killed during a shootout with police.
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Orlando, Fla. - 50 people were killed and 53 wounded on June 11, 2016, at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Just before the shooting, suspected killer Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the terror group ISIS. Mateen was also shot an killed by police on the scene.
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TheWrap looks back at recent mass shootings that have happened on U.S. soil
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.