Marco Rubio and an N.R.A. Official Were Jeered and Lectured on Gun Control
“The influence of these groups comes not from money, the influence comes from the millions of people who support the agenda.”
Mr. Deutch at one point engaged in a brief debate with Mr. Rubio, saying
that a gun allowing someone to fire off 150 rounds in six to seven minutes “should be banned.”
Later, Chris Grady, a student at the high school, thanked Mr. Rubio for appearing at the forum, unlike Mr. Trump and Mr. Scott
“My daughter, running down the hallway, was shot in the back with an assault weapon, the
weapon of choice,” Mr. Guttenberg said during the forum as Mr. Rubio stood stone-faced.
Mr. Rubio, Republican of Florida, also drew the ire of the crowd for refusing to support a ban on assault weapons and for saying
that he intended to continue accepting money from the N. R.A.
and other groups that support his pro-gun agenda.
“People buy into my agenda, and I do support the Second Amendment,” Mr. Rubio said,
repeatedly refusing to say he would stop accepting money from the group.
Ms. Loesch and Mr. Rubio appeared during the two-hour forum, broadcast on CNN from a site near Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., knowing full well
that they would be assailed by the gathering of people directly affected by the mass shooting last week.
