The coalition of demonstrators were responding to recent tragedies and Rubio’s actions following the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse that killed 49 people and left 53 wounded.
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10 protesters were arrested during a 49-hour sit-in at Senator Marco Rubio’s office in Orlando.
– Protesters have staged a sit-in at U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s offices in Downtown Orlando to raise awareness on a number of issues, gun safety being chief among them.
Most of the protesters walked out while singing “This Little Light of Mine”, but a dozen remained in the doorway, linking arms before being taken into custody.
The Orlando Police Department tweeted that they were “grateful to peaceful protesters who understand we have a job to do”. But ten protesters knelt at the entrance and were arrested for misdemeanor trespass, according to police reports.
Participants say they are sitting “in honor of the lives lost here in Orlando as well as for all victims of institutional discrimination and rampant gun violence”. “We are here for the communities – typically those of color – that have disproportionately battled gun violence for decades”.
The group presented Rubio’s staff with a list of demands, including that lawmakers reject financial contributions from the National Rifle Association; impose universal background checks; enact legislation making it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon or large capacity ammunition-feeding device; and allow federal research on gun violence.
“We are asking for an address to inclusivity policies”.
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“Senator Rubio respects the views of others on these hard issues, and he welcomes the continued input he is receiving from people across the political spectrum”, Rubio spokeswoman Kristen Morrell said in an email. “If we band together and unite as one, we can make a change”. “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”
