Rubio Owes Answers to the Families of Gun Violence Victims 

Monday, as the families of gun violence victims watched on, Marco Rubio shamefully sided with the NRA against commonsense gun safety measures, including a bill to close the terrorist gun loophole. 

He voted against these bills despite the overwhelming support from 9 in 10 Floridians who say enough is enough. He voted against these bills despite explicitly stating the Orlando shooting reignited his interest in doing the job he abandoned and admittedly “hates.” He even voted against these bills despite an impassioned personal appeal from Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of a Sandy Hook victim, to join her in working to stop these tragedies from ever occurring again.  

That is unacceptable and the families who have been torn apart by gun violence deserve answers. 

Is Marco Rubio truly so callous that he’d use the Orlando tragedy to jumpstart a political campaign after giving his word to Floridians that he would not run for reelection? 

How does he explain to the victim’s families that he wants six more years in the Senate so he can continue to oppose commonsense gun safety measures? 

Why is Rubio capable of breaking his pledge not to run for reelection but unable to break his pledge to support Donald Trump, who has called for putting guns in schools?  

“As the devastating results from the presidential primary showed, Floridians know Marco Rubio is a shameless opportunist who walked away from his job in the Senate after accomplishing nothing,” said FDP Chair Allison Tant. “The fact that he sat at the crime scene in Orlando and strategized with the Lieutenant Governor of Florida about how he could best turn this tragedy to his political advantage disqualifies him from holding public office. His continued opposition to commonsense gun safety proposals adds further disgrace. 

“The only thing left to do is wait and see how low Rubio will go in the pursuit of his own ambition. Run or not, Marco Rubio will be a private citizen in January of 2017.”