Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) participated in a CNN town hall in which he faced survivors of the Parkland school shooting that left 17 people dead. Many have given Rubio credit for showing up and listening to his constituents. Rubio said he was open to the idea of raising the age to buy rifles and would reconsider the size of gun magazines. But others note Rubio still plans to take money from the NRA and went on Twitter right after the town hall to challenge its participants. Does he deserve any praise?

PERSPECTIVES

Sen. Rubio was met with some harsh words at a CNN town hall, in which parents and survivors of the Parkland shooting demanded Rubio take action to prevent gun violence. Rubio was grilled for his "weak" response to the shooting, his history of NRA contributions and his assertion that the majority of his constituents agree with his position.

Marco Rubio gets eaten alive here. Absolutely amazing. pic.twitter.com/Yu3Ebvl9tV — igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 22, 2018

But not everyone thinks Rubio deserves any credit. As a senator, it is literally his job to listen to and represent the desires of his constituents. Why is a politician being revered for doing exactly what he should've been doing all along?

Sorry, I don't give credit to Marco Rubio for showing up last night. I guarantee you the students + teachers who showed up on campus the morning of the shooting weren't thanked for doing what needs to be done.



After years of inaction, Rubio is doing the bare minimum. No praise. — Charlotte Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) February 22, 2018

While Rubio appeared to make a few concessions, he still refused to stop receiving money from the NRA. Words are one thing, actions are another.

And after the town hall ended, Rubio was quick to take to Twitter to attack the participants as extremists who "hold a position well outside the mainstream."

Rubio was super polite on the stage and praised for his attendance by the other politicians and many audience members.



A few hours later he was dismissing them on Twitter as extremists https://t.co/5PQxsulqFu — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 22, 2018

Nevertheless, Rubio did show up and take his beating like a champ. Gov. Rick Scott refused to even participate.

@marcorubio came and took it like a champ and was respectful and kind.



@FLGovScott don’t think you can avoid the issue. Don’t think you can avoid #NEVERAGAIN and the #MarchForOurLives



Hide behind your money but know that we are demanding answers and change NOW. We’ll get both. — Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) February 22, 2018

Not a huge @marcorubio fan, but give him a ton of credit for showing up. No good way to respond to a teenage victim equating you to a murderer. I am troubled by some of the same people calling for civil discourse ripping Marco for trying to do just that bc they disagree w/him tho — Dan Spector (@dspector3) February 22, 2018

And the fact that Rubio said he would be open to reconsidering the size of gun magazines and raising the age to buy rifles counts for something.

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