Three billboards in Florida target Rubio on guns

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Rubio Defends Message of Unity Amid Divisiveness Senator Marco Rubio defended the President Donald Trump's message of unity in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, even amid a divided Congress and America. (Jan. 31)

An online activist group is mimicking the critically acclaimed film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to troll Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., with three rolling billboards in Florida calling for gun control.

The group Avaaz created the campaign, which features three trucks with billboard-like images splashed across the side. They read, "Slaughtered in school," then "And still no gun control?" followed by, "How come, Marco Rubio?"

In the film, a mother personally challenges local authorities to solve her daughter's murder. Emma Ruby-Sachs, Avaaz deputy director, said her group is challenging Rubio to support gun control after Wednesday's carnage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 people dead.

Rubio drew criticism for claiming gun restrictions could not have prevented the shooting. Rubio defended his position on Twitter, claiming the media "downplay" that he also said that Congress should not "therefore raise our hands & say there's nothing we can do."

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Rubio also chose a tack similar to President Trump when he labeled as "inexcusable" the FBI's failure to follow protocols and inform the Miami Field Office after getting a warning that suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz had expressed a desire to kill and had displayed erratic behavior. Rubio called for Congress to initiate its own investigations into the FBI's protocols for ensuring tips from the public about potential killers are followed through.

Ruby-Sachs was unimpressed.

“The senator has taken fire across the country for his toothless response to the shooting, calling it ‘inexplicable.’ We call that inexcusable,” she said.

Rubio has received more than $3 million from the group, The New York Times reports. Ruby-Sachs noted that Rubio received an A+ rating from the NRA.

"Florida has notoriously lax gun laws, and Rubio, who is supported by the NRA, has never attempted to reform them," she said.