Parkland Survivor David Hogg Tells Trump, ‘Show Us That You Aren’t Owned By The NRA’


Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg challenged Donald Trump Monday night to “show us you aren’t owned by the NRA,” calling out the president on his apparent backpedaling of certain gun-control measures that he had supported but seems to have abandoned in light of NRA resistance.

As Yahoo News reports, Hogg and another Parkland survivor, Alfonso Calderon, appeared on CNN Monday night to issue their challenge to the president. Earlier on Monday, as reported by the Inquisitr, Trump used Twitter to repeat key points of his gun-control plan, announced in the wake of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 people dead. On three points of his plan, Trump touted success: his plan to arm some teachers is moving forward, the Justice Department moved to ban so-called “bump stocks,” and he is fully supportive of strengthening background checks.

However, one key part of his proposal — raising the minimum age to buy certain firearms from 18 to 21 — has run into fierce opposition from the National Rifle Association.

The gun-rights organization has already sued Florida after Governor Rick Scott signed legislation raising the minimum age to 21. And as Trump admitted in a Monday tweet, the political will just isn’t there to push that plan through.

Trump had previously called out some Republicans for their seeming unwillingness to stand up to the NRA. On March 1, as CNN reported at the time, Trump admonished a group of Republicans.

“You’re afraid of the NRA.”

In Monday night’s interview, Hogg and Calderon both pointed out that the president seems to be in no better position when it comes to Republicans standing up against the gun-rights group.

“What President Trump showed when he said he wanted to raise the age to 21 is bipartisanship and he wanted to work together on this and save some lives. But the other thing that he showed after that is he is no better than the other politicians because he called out other GOP members and said essentially that you’re owned by the NRA and that’s why you don’t want to take action.”

Hogg also pointed out that talk about gun control, in the absence of meaningful action, is just that: talk.

“Show us you’re better than the other politicians, that you aren’t owned by the NRA and that you want to take action. Those proposals were great, but proposals without action remain proposals.”

Since the Parkland school shooting, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students such as Hogg, as well as his colleague Emma Gonzalez, have become national gun-control activists. Besides flying around the country, making the rounds of talk shows, and speaking at events, Hogg has been active in pushing forward the Never Again MSD movement. He’s also been accused of being a crisis actor whose actions are part of an orchestrated effort to push forward gun control.

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