Florida shooting survivor rips NRA: ‘They act like they don’t own these politicians’

A Florida high school shooting survivor on Sunday criticized the National Rifle Association (NRA), saying it pretends not to “own” politicians and is preventing Republicans from passing gun reform.

“It’s just disgusting. They act like they don’t own these politicians. They still do. It’s a Republican-controlled House, Senate and executive branch. They can get this stuff done,” Marjory Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“They’ve gotten gun legislation passed before in their favor, in favor of gun manufacturers,” he added.

The mass shooting at the school in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 people dead, has reignited a national discussion about gun reforms. Stoneman Douglas students have called out the NRA and the Republican politicians the organization supports.

Hogg on Sunday was critical of NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, arguing that she is more interested in representing gun manufacturers than NRA members. {mosads}

“Look at Dana, look at what she is saying,” Hogg said on ABC. “Is she actually saying anything or is that just a tone to distract the American public and distract her NRA members from the fact that she is not serving them, she is serving the gun manufacturers?”

“She’s not serving the people of the NRA,” Hogg said. “Because the people that are joining the NRA, 99.9 percent of them are amazing people that just want to be safe, responsible gun owners.”

The NRA has vocally resisted calls for gun reform after the shooting.

Even though President Trump has expressed his support for raising the legal age to purchase semi-automatic weapons to 21, the NRA has said it does not back such a change.

Loesch, however, on Sunday agreed with Trump about arming teachers to deter school shootings.

“If parents and teachers voluntarily choose to be armed, I think that’s something schools will have to come up with and determine for themselves,” Loesch said on ABC’s “This Week.”