Parkland students and gun control activists are frustrated with lawmakers for taking quick action to protect animals on airplanes while failing to make moves on stricter gun reform.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Thursday introduced a bill to ban airlines from putting animals in overhead compartments, Mashable reported.
The bill, called the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act (WOOFF), came hours after a puppy died on a United Airlines flight because it was forced into an overhead bin for a three-hour flight. On the same day, students staged a national walkout to honor the victims of a school shooting last month in Parkland, Florida.
Today, I introduced the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act, also known as WOOFF, w my colleague @SenCortezMasto. Our bill directs the @FAANews to create regulations to prohibit the storing of a live animal in any overhead compartment and establish civil fines for violations #WOOFF pic.twitter.com/U3nZqLNIaH
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 15, 2018
Activists, including Parkland survivors Cameron Kasky and Lex Michael, called Kennedy out for hypocrisy. He has been a vocal opponent of gun control laws.
17 people got shot at my school and nobody’s taking THAT seriously. If they were, they wouldn’t be talking about that little #StopSchoolViolenceAct
— Cam Kasky (@cameron_kasky) March 15, 2018
Senators, I must respectfully ask,
— Cam Kasky (@cameron_kasky) March 15, 2018
If the 17 brave eagles at my school who lost their lives to a gunman wielding an assault rifle were a dog on an airplane, would you finally talk about guns?
https://twitter.com/lexforchange/status/974363710981632000
If pets were being gunned down by an AR-15?
— {2020: The Year We Dump trump} (@SherylReeder) March 15, 2018
Sensible gun legislation in the blink of an eye.
Guaranteed.
Animal cruelty is inexcusable. But the speed with which Sen John Kennedy responded to the @united tragedy of a dog dying in an overhead bin—something that has happened precisely ONCE on record—makes his reaction (or lack thereof) to mass shootings an even bigger kick in the gut.
— Lies over the ocean (@mybonniemae) March 15, 2018
While no one is delegitimizing the importance of protecting animals from abuse on airplanes, they still question why the senator can’t apply the same logic to protecting the public from gun violence.
H/T Mashable