Fred Guttenberg, the daddy of a teen lady killed within the 2018 Parkland, Florida, college capturing, was escorted out of the State of the Unio
Fred Guttenberg, the daddy of a teen lady killed within the 2018 Parkland, Florida, college capturing, was escorted out of the State of the Union on Tuesday after protesting President Donald Trump’s inaction on gun violence.
Guttenberg’s protest got here shortly after Trump vowed his opposition to stricter gun legal guidelines. “Simply as we imagine within the First Modification, we additionally imagine in one other constitutional proper that’s below siege all throughout our nation,” Trump mentioned. “As long as I’m president I’ll at all times shield your Second Modification proper to maintain and bear arms.”
Guttenberg reportedly shouted that his daughter was a sufferer of gun violence, earlier than Capitol Police went to him and escorted him out. In keeping with NBC News reporter Kasie Hunt, many Democrats on the ground applauded Guttenberg as he was taken away. Many of the state of affairs was drowned out on air as Republicans applauded Trump’s remarks.
Guttenberg beforehand received some national media attention for confronting Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee for the Supreme Court docket, over his record on gun violence.
Guttenberg attended the State of the Union after receiving an invite from Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has pushed gun management payments, together with a universal background check measure, via the Home. He wore an orange tie, symbolizing gun violence consciousness.
Guttenberg’s daughter, 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, was among the many 17 killed in Parkland. After the capturing, Guttenberg grew to become vocal advocate for stricter gun legal guidelines, collaborating within the motion that remodeled into #NeverAgain and March for Our Lives. That motion culminated in an enormous march in Washington, DC, however it has additionally continued to inspire voter turnout efforts and candidates operating largely on doing one thing about gun violence.
Whereas the motion, in addition to rising consideration to mass shootings in the US, has led some states to enact stricter gun legal guidelines, Trump and Republicans in Congress have to this point rejected such efforts. After the Home handed its gun management payments, the GOP-held Senate refused to take them up — eliminating the payments’ probabilities of passing.
For extra on America’s gun drawback, learn Vox’s explainer.