SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Manuel Oliver, the father of Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Joaquin Oliver at Wednesday's gun violence hearing. (Photo: Screenshot/Twitter)
'Disgusting': GOP Congressman Tries to Get Parkland Victim's Father Ejected From Gun Control Hearing
"Manuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg are heroes, and have lived through enough trauma without [Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)] being too immature to handle constituents voicing their disagreement with his positions."
Feb 05, 2019
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was angrily interrupted by Manuel Oliver, the father of Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence Wednesday after the lawmaker said that "a wall" on the southern border would be a more effective way to curb gun violence than mandatory background checks.
The interruption led Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to interject, asking: "Is there any committee rule that prevents a member of congress for making false statements in a committee hearing?" His question drew loud applause from the audience.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was also murdered during the Parkland shooting--and seated next to Oliver at the hearing--appeared visibly agitated by Gaetz's comments. While chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) attempted to restore order, Gaetz suggested both Oliver and Guttenberg be ejected from the hearing.
Watch:
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
She was far from alone in her outrage:
In a tweet, Waleed Shahid of the advocacy group Justice Democrats, likened Gaetz's comments to the lies told by other white supremacists in congressional history.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was angrily interrupted by Manuel Oliver, the father of Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence Wednesday after the lawmaker said that "a wall" on the southern border would be a more effective way to curb gun violence than mandatory background checks.
The interruption led Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to interject, asking: "Is there any committee rule that prevents a member of congress for making false statements in a committee hearing?" His question drew loud applause from the audience.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was also murdered during the Parkland shooting--and seated next to Oliver at the hearing--appeared visibly agitated by Gaetz's comments. While chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) attempted to restore order, Gaetz suggested both Oliver and Guttenberg be ejected from the hearing.
Watch:
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
She was far from alone in her outrage:
In a tweet, Waleed Shahid of the advocacy group Justice Democrats, likened Gaetz's comments to the lies told by other white supremacists in congressional history.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was angrily interrupted by Manuel Oliver, the father of Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence Wednesday after the lawmaker said that "a wall" on the southern border would be a more effective way to curb gun violence than mandatory background checks.
The interruption led Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to interject, asking: "Is there any committee rule that prevents a member of congress for making false statements in a committee hearing?" His question drew loud applause from the audience.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was also murdered during the Parkland shooting--and seated next to Oliver at the hearing--appeared visibly agitated by Gaetz's comments. While chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) attempted to restore order, Gaetz suggested both Oliver and Guttenberg be ejected from the hearing.
Watch:
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
She was far from alone in her outrage:
In a tweet, Waleed Shahid of the advocacy group Justice Democrats, likened Gaetz's comments to the lies told by other white supremacists in congressional history.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.