Dad of Parkland Shooting Victim Scales Giant Construction Crane to Unfurl Gun Control Banner
TAKING A STAND
The grieving father of one of the 17 victims of the 2018 school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, scaled a 150-foot crane in front of the White House to mark the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the shooting, unfurled a massive banner with his son’s photo and the message: “45k people died from gun violence on your watch.” Oliver also tweeted that he came to Washington last December to attempt to meet President Biden uninvited. He said his son was with him this time, referring to the banner, “So the whole nation can judge our reality.” Biden had earlier released a statement to mark the anniversary. “Out of the heartbreak of Parkland a new generation of Americans all across the country marched for our lives and towards a better, safer America for us all,” Biden said in a statement. “Together, this extraordinary movement is making sure that the voices of victims and survivors and responsible gun owners are louder than the voices of gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association.”