Parkland father not invited to Trump meeting with victim families after shouting at State of the Union
Fred Guttenberg not attending Oval Office event marking two-year anniversary of high school shooting
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Your support makes all the difference.The father of a student killed during a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida was not invited to Donald Trump's meeting with families of victims after he shouted down the president at the State of the Union address.
Fred Guttenburg's 14-year-old daughter Jamie was among the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on 14 February 2018.
He was briefly detained after interrupting the president during his State of the Union, at which Mr Guttenburg was Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's invited guest, while the president boasted about his Second Amendment protections.
Mr Guttenburg later apologised on Twitter, saying he had "let my emotions get the best of me".
"I simply want to be able to deal with the reality of gun violence and not have to listen to the lies" about the Second Amendment, he said.
This Friday marks two years since 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz committed the deadliest school shooting in US history, killing 14 students and three staff members, compelling a massive youth-led movement and March for Our Lives demonstrations across the US urging gun control measures and condemning the National Rifle Association's powerful lobbying efforts and the "thoughts and prayers" offered by conservative lawmakers in the massacre's wake.
The president is scheduled to meet with members of bipartisan organisation Stand with Parkland, which includes several victims' families. The White House said the president "greets Parkland families" in the Oval Office on Monday.
Mr Guttenburg says his family is not part of the group and had only learned about the event through a reporter. He criticised the president's characterisation of the event, which will not include all families of the 17 people killed in the shooting.
He said: "I wish the families well today and I hope that they have a great meeting. My issue with the public schedule remains however as it is not accurate and considering this week is two years since this happened, this should have been handled differently by the White House."
The president's snub follows a vengeful week at the White House, including the ousting of impeachment witnesses Lt Col Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland after Mr Trump's acquittal in his senate trial. He also attacked several senators for their "guilty" votes, including Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and her late husband, Congressman John Dingell, as well as Utah Senator Mitt Romney and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
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