Gun control activist who lost daughter in school shooting takes Romney to task for complaining Biden not ‘bipartisan’

‘Who is being partisan?’ Fred Guttenberg asks the senator, grilling him over his position on background checks

When Mitt Romney complained on Twitter that President Joe Biden was not practising enough “bipartisanship,” one prominent gun control activist was not impressed.

“Who is being partisan?” Fred Guttenberg replied. “Your party has made it clear they will not do what Americans want.”

Mr Guttenberg has publicly advocated for stricter gun laws since 2018, when he lost his 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

“A Senate evenly split between both parties and a bare Democratic House majority are hardly a mandate to ‘go it alone,’” the Republican senator wrote. “The President should live up to the bipartisanship he preached in his inaugural address.”

Read more:

• Biden news live: President offers condolences after US Capitol attack
• Trump demands MLB boycott after ‘woke’ protest at Georgia voting law
• Matt Gaetz shared nude photo on House floor of woman he said he slept with, report says
• Marjorie Taylor Greene says Biden’s vaccine passport plan should be called ‘the Mark of the Beast’
• Matt Gaetz: The Florida congressman who became Donald Trump’s most outspoken ally

“Ok @MittRomney, let’s try this,” Mr Guttenberg responded. “Background checks are supported by 90% of Americans & a bipartisan House vote. Every Republican, including you, will likely vote against [it] in the Senate.”

Studies have shown that large majorities of Americans, including gun owners, support background checks for firearm purchases, as well as other regulations. It’s also true that the House of Representatives recently passed two bills to expand background checks, with the support of some Republican members – but not many.

As of Saturday, Mr Romney had not responded to Mr Guttenberg’s tweet. Other Twitter users did, however.

“I couldn’t have said it better,” one wrote. “Thank you, Fred.”

“This is such a perfect response,” another said. “Watching from North of the border I cannot figure this guy out. Every time he shows a glimmer of decency he then always takes a step back.”

Mr Romney’s record on guns is complicated. As governor of Massachusetts, he extended a ban on assault weapons and publicly distanced himself from the National Rifle Association. As a candidate for president in 2012, however, he became a lifetime member of the organisation and said he opposed any new gun control measures.

Mr Romney’s office has not yet responded toThe Independent’s request for comment.