Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was among the 17 murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is not satisfied with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s reason for refusing to shake his hand, the SunSentinel is reporting.
Guttenberg had walked over to Kavanaugh during a break at a recent confirmation hearing to introduce himself as the father of one of those murdered at the Parkland, Florida school. He extended his hand to Kavanaugh.
Guttenberg had earlier described the incident like this: “Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg's dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.”
But Kavanaugh, in response to a written question from senators, wrote he assumed the man had been one of the many protesters in the hearing room.
“It had been a chaotic morning,” Kavanaugh wrote. “I unfortunately did not realize that the man was the father of a shooting victim from Parkland, Florida. If I had known who he was, I would have shaken his hand, talked to him, and expressed my sympathy. And I would have listened to him.”
But Guttenberg told the Sentinel the response was “less than genuine.”
He said Kavanaugh “missed every opportunity, including one when I was there, to actually act like he meant it. He chose to say nothing.”
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