Media

Tucker Carlson criticizes ‘extremist’ Parkland students calling for gun control

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday criticized Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students for speaking out for gun control.

Carlson said on his program that the students who survived the school shooting are not fit not be making policy but, because they have been so outspoken, should still be taken seriously.

“They have a right to their views obviously, that is a given. This is one of the rare shows that supports the rights of people we disagree with to talk,” Carlson said. “But the rest of us also have rights, including the right to assess what they are saying and decide whether it ought to become law to which we are subject.”

{mosads}

Carlson’s comments came on the eve of the “March for Our Lives” gun control rally that was largely organized by the student survivors of the February 14 Florida school shooting during which 17 people died.

The Fox News host argued that two of the student activists from Stoneman Douglas, David Hogg and Emma González, are not fit to be involved in the gun control debate because they are still recovering from the shooting.

“He is a kid. He has just been through unspeakable tragedy,” Carlson said of Hogg. “And that’s why adults shouldn’t be using him or his friends to push their agendas to the rest of us.”

He also accused the students of arguing that anyone who disagrees with them want to kill children. According to Carlson, such ideas disqualify them from making policy decisions.

“You’re definitely not fit to be making policy for the rest of us. You are by definition an extremist,” Carlson said. “You should not have power if you really believe anyone who disagrees with you is evil and wants to kill the innocent.”

The “March for Our Lives” rally is expected to bring together more than a million people in Washington D.C. on Saturday. Hundreds of other cities have also planned rallies to take place on the same day.