David Hogg: Greene should apologize to families of shooting victims that have ‘permanently empty bedroom’

Parkland shooting survivor and gun control activist David Hogg on Friday urged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to issue an apology directly to the families who lost loved ones and who now have a “permanently empty bedroom” following reports of past comments Greene has made about mass shootings.

Greene has faced backlash in recent days over unearthed remarks made on social media in which she said the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 that killed 17 people was staged. She was also filmed taunting Hogg and other survivors who were in Washington, D.C., advocating for gun reform, specifically calling Hogg a “coward.” 

On Friday, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked Hogg about Greene’s previous remarks in which she said she could relate to his experience because she said that she was also a survivor of a school shooting. 

The March for Our Lives co-founder said he was less concerned with the statements directed at him, and more so “the real people that she offended, which are the families in Parkland and Las Vegas and Sandy Hook that have a permanently empty bedroom, that have a permanently empty place at the dinner table.”

“They’re the people that are the real victims here that deserve the apology, not me. And that’s really what upsets me is that she’s detracting from their suffering and their experience because she can’t know their pain.”

Hogg went on to say that these families “had the worst possible thing in the world happen to them.” 

“They are the ones that deserve an apology,” he added. 

Hogg also criticized Greene for launching a fundraising effort over Twitter in response to House Democrats’ push for her removal from two committees. 

Parkland shooting survivor @davidhogg111 says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene should apologize to families of Parkland, Las Vegas and Sandy Hook. They “have a permanently empty bedroom … have a permanently empty place at the dinner table.”https://t.co/mwnJBmjoxV pic.twitter.com/8YjLgCyQmm

— New Day (@NewDay) February 5, 2021

Hogg had previously called for more action to be taken against Greene over her past remarks and last month specifically urged House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to denounce Greene. 

“My message to Kevin McCarthy is this: Take her committee assignments away,” Hogg said on CNN at the time. “Along with that, also, don’t support her when she runs for reelection again and try to get her primaried.”

“If you say this is not your party, actually call it out and hold her accountable,” Hogg continued. “Republicans always act as if they’re the party of decency, respect, but would the party of decency and respect question whether or not school shootings happened? Would they harass the survivors of these shootings for having a different opinion than them? I don’t think so.”

House Democrats on Thursday voted to strip Greene from her committee assignments, citing her endorsement of conspiracy theories, racist ideologies and violence against Democratic politicians. 

Eleven Republicans crossed party lines to vote with Democrats in favor of Greene’s removal from her committees.