Father of Parkland shooting victim: Raising age to buy assault weapons ‘would’ve saved my daughter’

The father of Jaime Guttenberg, who was killed in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., told CNN anchor Jim Acosta on Saturday that raising the minimum age for purchasing assault weapons “would’ve saved my daughter.”

“Raising the age would’ve saved my daughter, raising the age would’ve stopped Uvalde, raising the age would’ve stopped Buffalo,” Fred Guttenberg claimed.

Guttenberg’s 14-year-old daughter was killed along with 16 others when a 19-year-old gunman attacked Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland with an AR-15-style rifle he had purchased legally the previous year.

Recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y., were both carried out by 18-year-old men.

The suspect in the Uvalde shooting, Salvador Ramos, bought multiple assault rifles legally in the days after his 18th birthday, one of which authorities say he used to kill 19 children and two adults last week at Robb Elementary School.

The suspected gunman in the massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo last month, Payton Gendron, also legally purchased the assault rifle he used in a racially motivated attack that left 10 dead.

Guttenberg emphasized that he wants to address shootings in incremental ways, “Not ways to punish gun owners but to solve the issue of gun violence.”

He applauded President Biden for his approach to gun control, saying that Biden is an advocate for additional restrictions on guns but recognizes that change must be implemented at a pace that appeases the American people.

“While I want a ban, I also understand where we are, so let’s at a minimum take into the reality check that we have to, that the majority of these mass shootings are being done by this age group, and let’s do something about it,” Guttenberg said, characterizing Biden’s views.

This comes after Biden on Thursday called for Congress to ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines or otherwise raise the purchasing age from 18 to 21 during a primetime address.

“How much more carnage are we willing to accept?” Biden said in the address from the White House. “Let’s meet the moment. Let us finally do something.” 

Guttenberg concurred with Biden’s call to “do something” about gun violence, saying “We have to.”