GOP Congressman Steve King doubles down in his attacks on Emma Gonzalez and Stoneman Douglas kids
Yesterday we brought you the story of how Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who has a long history of racism and gun fanaticism, posted a racist attack against Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez. After a full day of backlash, King has addressed the controversy. But rather than backing down or apologizing, King is now doubling down in his attacks on Gonzalez and the Stoneman Douglas Kids.
Steve King, or one of his aides, posted a meme on his official Facebook page which stated this about Gonzalez: “This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet don’t speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence their right to self defense.” This was a wildly inaccurate depiction, as Gonzalez had the Cuban flag on her jacket simply because she’s of Cuban descent. The backlash against King came fast and furious.
By late Monday, the post in question was still visible on King’s Facebook page, meaning that even if he didn’t originally sign off on its posting, he clearly approved of it remaining visible. As if to erase any doubt where he stood, King then posted this to Twitter on Monday night: “If you are a teenager & believe you won’t be responsible enough to own a gun until 21, why should you vote before 21?” Based on the nationwide attention that King’s social media posts were receiving at that point in time, there was little doubt that King signed off on the tweet before it was posted.
Various Stoneman Douglas students have responded to Steve King’s attacks. Jaclyn Corin responded to King’s tweet with “We’re gonna vote you out, Steve.” David Hogg urged support for King’s upcoming opponent in the November elections by tweeting “Who’s running against this guy?”
