With votes on gun control legislation scheduled to begin in hours, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky accused President Obama of using the parents of children killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting as “props” in some cases.
The first term senator was asked at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters on Wednesday whether the bombings at the Boston Marathon had any policy implications for gun control or immigration legislation.
“It is largely a mistake to talk about issues in the wake of crisis, in the wake of tragedy,” he said.
Senator Paul, the founder of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, said he thought gun control “is a legitimate issue for our country to debate and decide where and how we can fix the problems of violence.”
Noting that he has three sons, Paul continued, “I hate to see using people … as props and politicizing people’s tragedy. When I see the father and the mothers … testifying and I know they are coming voluntarily and they want to come and be part of this debate. It still saddens me just to see them. And I think that in some cases the president has used them as props. That disappoints me.”
