As the horrifying events of Sunday’s mass shooting at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida were released today, Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted concerned updates. Survivors of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as well as family of those students who did not survive, were not having it.
Horrifying news from #Jacksonville this afternoon. Have spoken to local authorities & am still awaiting more information on this shooting. Situation still unfolding, law enforcement is asking everyone to avoid the area. #Sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 26, 2018
Vocal supporter of common sense gun law reform and shooting survivor David Hogg, who faced mass criticism and death threats although he was a child survivor who lost friends and classmates, spoke out.
How many mass shootings in your state will it take for you to do something?
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) August 26, 2018
Hogg also said that he would be unfollowing any news organization who aired the photo, name, or details about the shooter. In a move to strip such shooters of the notoriety they so crave, victims and gun control advocates have pledged to boycott news outlets unless they focus on the casualties, the survivors, and their families instead of turning shooters into celebrities.
Preach #NoNotoriety @CNN @FoxNews @MSNBC @NBCNews @ABC @CBS @latimes @nytimes @USATODAY @SunSentinel @voxdotcom @WPLGLocal10 @CBSMiami @MiamiHerald @chicagotribune @pbpost @TB_Times @vicenews @thehill @BuzzFeedNews @guardian @BBCBreaking
RT if you agree. https://t.co/gl6Z9mUVOY
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) August 26, 2018
Another survivor, Delaney Tarr, pointed out that these shootings are becoming far too common in the state where Rubio sits in the state senate. Florida is also home to one of the largest mass shootings in modern history at Pulse Nightclub in Miami, where 50 victims were killed.
There’s nothing I hate more than having to use the hashtag #AnotherFLShooting , but people need to realize that THIS KEEPS HAPPENING. https://t.co/2DRN8avXDk
— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) August 26, 2018
Father of Jamie Guttenberg, a high schooler who was shot and killed at the school Hogg and Tarr attended, also spoke up against Rubio and other lawmakers who block effective reform while taking millions in campaign donations from the largest gun lobby organization in the United States, the NRA.
Here is video of what the latest mass shooting, happening now, sounds like. Warning, it is disturbing. To NRA, gun lobby, manufacturers and everyone else, enough of your moronic twisting of the 2nd amendment. We have a right to public safety. Enough of your BS. https://t.co/7JtP9psp79
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) August 26, 2018
Thoughts and prayers have gotten us nowhere and the U.S. remains the country with the highest mass shooting numbers in the developed world. Until lawmakers are ready to come to the table with real solutions, the fight, as well as the senseless killings, will continue.
Featured image via Flickr by Jamelle Bouie under a Creative Commons license
