Parkland survivor hits back at Marjorie Taylor Greene over gun control push

Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg sparred with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Twitter Sunday, accusing her of “attacking survivors so you can fundraise.” 

Hogg, a co-founder of March For Our Lives, has been involved in organizing marches in Washington D.C. and in cities across the country following the mass shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead in Uvalde, Texas.

“I hear you & your girls are funded to come to town this week to once again try to manipulate some of my gutless weak colleagues to vote for gun control that will violate our freedoms and leave Americans defenseless,” Greene tweeted at Hogg on Sunday, asking why the gun control activist was not planning to meet with her.

“I’m more interested in protecting children and meeting commonsense people who are looking for reasonable solutions to stop children from dying,” Hogg replied. “Don’t really have time to help you go viral for attacking survivors so you can fundraise.”

Fred Guttenberg, another gun control activist who lost his daughter in the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, replied to Greene’s tweet as well. 

“I will also be coming to DC. I will bring pictures of my girl Jaime, who was murdered in Parkland,” Guttenberg tweeted on Sunday.

“If you are looking for people to put on your schedule, please put me,” he added. “Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?  What day is best for you?”

March for Our Lives, which started after 17 people were killed in the Parkland shooting, is rallying people around the country to march for gun control on June 11. 

Activists from the group also intend to meet with lawmakers in the Capitol from June 7 to June 10 in an effort to push for universal background checks.

“Our message and ask is simple: no longer will we be held hostage by our lawmakers and no longer will we tolerate feeling unsafe in our communities,” the group’s website said.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a leading gun control advocate in the Senate, said on Sunday that he is “more confident than ever” that a gun deal could be reached after a string of recent mass shootings.

A group of senators from both parties has been meeting about legislation to curb gun violence ever since the Uvalde shooting. Murphy said the talks are focused on mental health funding, school safety measures, background checks and red-flag legislation.

“I think, this week, we need to have concepts to present to our colleagues,” Murphy told CNN “State of the Union” co-anchor Jake Tapper. 

“I don’t know that we’re going to vote this coming week, but we need to make decisions on whether or not we have a sustainable package in the next five days,” he added.