Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was caught on tape throwing out a pamphlet and pin honoring Maite Rodriguez, a 10-year-old who was killed during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last year.
Anti-gun violence activist Sarah Fishkind posted a video of the interaction on Twitter Tuesday.
“We just talked to Lauren Boebert about what the pin represents. She immediately threw away the pin and shook her head ‘no’ when I said we hope you can take action on gun violence prevention,” Fishkind wrote.
The trashed pamphlet talked about Rodriguez and her symbolic green sneakers, as well as called for an assault weapons ban. The group of advocates was passing out the pamphlet along with a pin representing Rodriguez’s sneakers.
Rodriguez’s body was identified solely through a pair of green Converse with a drawn-on heart on the left toe. Actor Matthew McConaughey brought a pair of green sneakers to the White House as he called for gun reform at the White House in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.
Rodriguez was only identifiable by her shoes because of the damage inflicted by the AR-15 used in the shooting.
“They needed extensive restoration,” McConaughey said. “Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle. Most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA test[s] and green Converse could identify ’em.”
Boebert’s interaction was roundly criticized by anti-gun violence activists and family members of those killed in school shootings.
“Whether or not you agree with what we are fighting for or not, throwing away a pamphlet of a mother fighting to honor her child who was gunned down and murdered in her classroom is beyond fucking disgusting,” wrote Jazmin Cazares, who lost her 9-year-old sister Jackie Cazares in the Uvalde shooting.
Brett Cross, whose 10-year-old son Uziyah Garcia was also killed in the Uvalde shooting, said in a video that Boebert’s actions “show once again that she does not give a damn.”
“What she seems to forget is that her son is 17, still in school—that could have been his pin,” Cross continued. “She’s about to have a grand baby, and in a few years, that could be their pin. And she don’t give a rat’s ass. This is beyond infuriating.”
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg was murdered in the Parkland school shooting in 2018, similarly condemned Boebert’s decision to throw out the pamphlet.
“I always assume that there is a floor to how miserable a person like [Boebert] can be,” Guttenberg wrote. “However, Lauren again shows what a miserable ass she is. Trashing a card and pin that honors a victim of gun violence shows just who she is.”
As co-chair of the Second Amendment Caucus, Boebert is known for her fierce opposition to any form of gun control. In May, she introduced a bill that would repeal bipartisan gun control reforms passed last June. She has previously posted photos of her children holding guns and ran a gun-themed restaurant.
“The Second Amendment is absolute and it’s here to stay,” Boebert said on the House floor in February. “A recent report states that Americans own 46% of the world’s guns. I think we need to get our numbers up, boys and girls.”
