Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was booed during Wednesday’s CNN town hall on theParkland shooting when he said he wouldn’t support an assault weapons ban.
A father who lost his daughter in the school shooting told Rubio that his comments thus far about the shooting were “pathetically weak,” and asked what action he would take to prevent future shootings.
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Rubio clarified the comments he made earlier in the week, explaining, “the problems we face here today cannot be solved by gun laws alone,” and pointed to mental health issues and raising the minimum age to buy a rifle.
The conversation then switched to the assault weapons bans, which Rubio did his best to argue against while facing a crowd of boos.
“If you’ll indulge me for a minute to explain to you the problem,” Rubio explained. “First you have to define what it is. If you look at the law and its definition, it basically bans 200 models of guns, 220 specific models of guns. Okay? But it allows legal 2,000 other types of gun that are identical. Identical.”
“My belief remains that rather than continue to try to chase every loophole that’s created, that’s why it failed in ’94, that’s why they’re getting around it in California, it’s how they get around it in New York, is we should make sure that dangerous criminals, people who are deranged cannot buy any gun of any kind,” he continued. “That’s what I believe a better answer will be.”
However, the senator’s explanation for why he opposes the ban didn’t appease the crowd or the mourning father.
“Are you saying you will start with the 200 and work your way up?” the father asked. “Okay. Your answer speaks for itself.”
One person from the crowd could even called Rubio an “asshole.”