Manuel Oliver, the father of Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting victim Joaquin Oliver at Wednesday's gun violence hearing. (Photo: Screenshot/Twitter)
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:
\u201cDuring today\u2019s House hearing on #HR8, Rep. Matt Gaetz said building \u201cthe wall\u201d would be more effective than background checks. He then got into an argument with @manueloliver00, whose son Joaquin was killed in Parkland, and tried to have him ejected.\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1549476014
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
\u201cDisgusting\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480749
\u201cManuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg are heroes, and have lived through enough trauma without @RepMattGaetz being too immature to handle constituents voicing their disagreement with his positions\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480698
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.
\u201cMatt Gaetz: "The greatest driver of violence...is not the firearm. It's that we have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently."\n\nGOP lies are near the level white supremacists delivered in Congress against abolition & civil rights.\n\nhttps://t.co/CPU5UhOaei\u201d— Waleed Shahid (@Waleed Shahid) 1549485389
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
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:
\u201cDuring today\u2019s House hearing on #HR8, Rep. Matt Gaetz said building \u201cthe wall\u201d would be more effective than background checks. He then got into an argument with @manueloliver00, whose son Joaquin was killed in Parkland, and tried to have him ejected.\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1549476014
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
\u201cDisgusting\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480749
\u201cManuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg are heroes, and have lived through enough trauma without @RepMattGaetz being too immature to handle constituents voicing their disagreement with his positions\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480698
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.
\u201cMatt Gaetz: "The greatest driver of violence...is not the firearm. It's that we have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently."\n\nGOP lies are near the level white supremacists delivered in Congress against abolition & civil rights.\n\nhttps://t.co/CPU5UhOaei\u201d— Waleed Shahid (@Waleed Shahid) 1549485389
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:
\u201cDuring today\u2019s House hearing on #HR8, Rep. Matt Gaetz said building \u201cthe wall\u201d would be more effective than background checks. He then got into an argument with @manueloliver00, whose son Joaquin was killed in Parkland, and tried to have him ejected.\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1549476014
Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, was quick to condemn Gaetz on Twitter:
\u201cDisgusting\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480749
\u201cManuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg are heroes, and have lived through enough trauma without @RepMattGaetz being too immature to handle constituents voicing their disagreement with his positions\u201d— X Gonz\u00e1lez (@X Gonz\u00e1lez) 1549480698
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.
\u201cMatt Gaetz: "The greatest driver of violence...is not the firearm. It's that we have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently."\n\nGOP lies are near the level white supremacists delivered in Congress against abolition & civil rights.\n\nhttps://t.co/CPU5UhOaei\u201d— Waleed Shahid (@Waleed Shahid) 1549485389
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.