WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Friday marks two years since the tragic shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead and several others injured. Parkland families spent the day in Washington D.C. hoping for a change.
“I need to be in an iconic place to send the right message,” Manny Oliver said.
Manny Oliver lost his son on Feb. 14, 2018, when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Aalayah Eastmond was inside the school at the time. Now she’s a college student in D.C. advocating for stronger gun regulation.
“Demanding congressional change for gun violence prevention with people that can relate to my pain is very important to me,” Eastmond said.
Students and families from Parkland are in Washington looking for answers. They’re sharing a newspaper that shows all the shootings that have happened since that day two years ago.
The Trump administration launched SchoolSafety.gov this week. It’s a website of government-wide resources for schools to prepare for threats.
Washington Correspondent Kellie Meyer asked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) if he felt the website was enough to address gun violence.
“No, no single thing is enough. I think the issue here is violence,” he said.
Rubio said Congress is taking multiple steps to make a difference but he doesn’t back every proposed solution.
“Background checks will tell you what someone has done in the past it cannot predict what they do in the future,” Rubio said.
The Bipartisan Background Checks bill passed the House last year.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) thinks the bill would pass if it came to the Senate floor.
“I think everybody supports that overwhelmingly, but I don’t see that happening,” Jones said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) hasn’t signaled any plans to allow a vote on the bill.
