A sheriff slammed the spokeswoman of the National Rifle Association for failing to stand up for the Florida school shooting survivors and called for automatic rifles to be outlawed.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel attended the CNN town hall event on Wednesday, just one week after 17 people were killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
When NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch tried to pin the blame on loopholes in background checks, Israel said, “I understand you’re standing up for the NRA and I understand that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
“But you just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. You’re not standing up for them until you say, ‘I want less weapons.'”
Israel also defended high school student Emma Gonzalez, who asked Loesch about gun control.
“An 18-year-old kid should not have a rifle…They’re in high school. These kids should not have a rifle. Bump stocks should be illegal. They should be outlawed forever. Automatic rifles should be outlawed forever,” Israel said.
“And anybody who says different, I don’t know about other people, but Emma and I, we’re calling BS on that,” he added as members of the crowd jumped to their feet to applaud his impassioned speech.
The sheriff also outlined three potentially life-saving changes and called for schools to be built differently in order to thwart intruders.
He also called for gun control reform and suggested expanding the Baker Law, which allows people to be involuntarily examined by mental health professionals.