Father of Florida shooting victim: Rubio never reached out to offer condolences

The father of a Parkland, Fla., shooting victim intensified his criticisms of Sen. Marco Rubio (R) on Saturday, saying the Florida senator never reached out personally to offer condolences after his daughter was killed.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of 17 people killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, has been a vocal critic of Rubio’s handling of gun control following the shooting.

“Every single elected official in this state who represents me, as well as some on a national level and from other states, called me in the aftermath to offer condolence,” Guttenberg told MSNBC’s Joy Reid. “Senator Rubio? Not even a tweet, not even a text, not a phone call.”

Guttenberg ripped Rubio over a tweet in which the senator said the post-Parkland debate “reminds us We the People don’t really like each other very much.”

The debate after #Parkland reminds us We The People don’t really like each other very much.We smear those who refuse to agree with us.We claim a Judea-Christian heritage but celebrate arrogance & boasting. & worst of all we have infected the next generation with the same disease

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 28, 2018

{mosads}

“The idea that he called me, but even more so, those kids, ‘not nice’ to him,” Guttenberg said. “I lost my daughter, those kids lived through a tragedy. We have every right to speak up and speak out and demand action.”

Guttenberg confronted Rubio at a CNN town hall on the shooting last month, calling the senator’s response to the tragedy “pathetically weak.”

He said Saturday that Rubio has “no business” being involved in the conversation.

“The idea that he’s going to judge me and the other families when he’s the only person who didn’t even personally reach out,” Guttenberg said. “I am sorry, you have no standing to speak to us on that issue. You lost that long ago.”

Rubio has been under intense scrutiny on the issue of gun control following the shooting, with Parkland students and families who have been calling for action on gun violence pointing to the senator’s acceptance of campaign donations from the National Rifle Association.