Wednesday evening’s town hall gave students, parents and faculty a chance to speak to those in power about last week’s tragedy in Parkland, FL. They did not disappoint. Emotions and tensions ran high last night, but those who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School put lawmakers, lobbyists and the nation as a whole on notice, broadcasting the message that inaction on gun control and school safety is no longer an option. In case you missed it, or just want to relive some truly empowering highlights, here are the moments you need to see from CNN’s Town Hall, as compiled by Think Progess’s Aaron Rupar.
Rubio tells father of slain student who challenged him to admit that “guns were a factor” in last week’s mass shooting that he is going to “repeat what I said” — there are more factors than gun control. #StudentsDemandActionpic.twitter.com/HbRy8pIcSZ
Rubio scores an own goal when he says the assault weapons ban “would literally ban every semi-automatic rifle that’s sold in America” and the crowd erupts in cheers pic.twitter.com/VfIqxCloyo
Marco Rubio tells Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Cameron Kasky he “supports the 2nd amendment” after he’s asked if he’ll pledge not to accept any more money from the NRA.
Rubio’s defense of continuing to accept NRA donations is that “there’s money on both sides of every issue in America” and that donors to him “buy into his agenda,” not the other way around pic.twitter.com/jneHCLI06R
After student Emma Gonzalez asks her a question, NRA spokesperson @DLoesch receives some boos. She tells students the NRA is against “insane monsters” having guns.
“And I’m not just fighting for my kids, I’m fighting for you. I’m fighting for you,” she says, as boos percolate. pic.twitter.com/AaCDPOfKRS
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel gets a huge ovation after he tells Dana Loesch that “you’re not standing up for [these students] until you say, I want less weapons.” pic.twitter.com/bq9xFfA4An
Dana Loesch’s talking point that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz should never have been able to obtain his AR-15 legally because he’s “crazy” is not going over well with the #StudentsDemandAction audience pic.twitter.com/Ir34hbEbR7
Oof. Loesch gets big boos after she tells high school students that they should be able to buy AR-15s because otherwise they might get raped. pic.twitter.com/NWSsOuzbwJ
My God. NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch is now publicly attacking Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for allegedly dropping the ball and not stopping Nikolas Cruz before the Parkland shooting.
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch is out here lecturing the mother of a teacher who was slain last week by a gunman with an AR-15 that actually, the Founding Fathers intended to protect AR-15s with the 2nd amendment. pic.twitter.com/9Magi9Q9GO
Loesch is booed off the stage after she closes the CNN forum by arguing that mass shootings are a law enforcement problem, not a guns problem pic.twitter.com/5xMonHhBy2