Following Florida high school shooting, Marco Rubio slammed for accepting millions from the NRA

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last updated 15 February 2018

In the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called it a "terrible day you pray never comes," and the backlash on Twitter was quick.

The New York Daily News reports that over the course of his career as an elected official, Rubio has received $3,303,355 from the NRA, plus an "A+" grade, and during the 2015-16 campaign cycle, he accepted $90,205 in contributions from gun rights groups. Several people tweeted "$3,303,355" to Rubio, adding comments like, "You chose money over dead kids" and "While you're praying, also pray for a spine to stand up to the NRA that has bought you off so effectively with their blood-money."

Others called him out for voting against limiting firearm magazine capacities and keeping people on the terrorist watch list from purchasing guns, and said he should draft legislation that bans AR-15s, the weapon used by the alleged shooter on Wednesday. Later, Rubio tweeted that he had finished an update with federal authorities on the shooting, and it was an attack "designed and executed to maximize loss of life," another statement that elicited rage. "You take millions from the NRA and voted against outlawing the weapon used today," one woman tweeted. "How about this time you skip the thoughts and prayers and actually do something to keep our children from being slaughtered in their classrooms. Signed, a Florida voter."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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