Fred Guttenberg, father of a girl killed in the Parkland school shooting earlier this year, has publicly condemned Brett Kavanaugh, saying “your life and family are not ruined” after the judge said sexual assault allegations had "destroyed" him and his family.
In a series of tweets published as Mr Kavanaugh and one of his accusers Dr Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr Guttenberg criticised the Supreme Court nominee for seemingly playing the victim during his testimony.
“Your life and family are not ruined,” Mr Guttenberg wrote of Mr Kavanaugh. “Try having a child murdered by a weapon that you refer to as ‘common use’. You will get through this and hug both your children tonight.”
His daughter, Jaime, was among the 17 people killed after a gunman fired a semi-automatic weapon into Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in South Florida on 14, February this year.
Mr Guttenberg was referring to a previous dissent written by Mr Kavanaugh where he argued that such assault weapons are in “common use” and therefore constitutionally protected.
Dr Blasey Ford delivered a powerful testimony on Thursday about her allegations that Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while the two were in high school. Mr Kavanaugh has categorically denied the claims.
During his testimony, Mr Kavanaugh complained that the accusations have “damaged” his life and that his reputation and family life “have been totally and permanently destroyed”.
“The Kavanaugh as victim really infuriated me,” Mr Guttenberg said in another tweet. “He is not. He is a guy who screwed up and is facing reality. My family and I, we are victims of gun violence. I [will] never get my daughter back. He deeply misunderstands what it means to be a victim.”
Earlier this month, video footage showed Mr Guttenberg approach Mr Kavanaugh during a confirmation hearing, reaching out his hand, as the Supreme Court nominee can be seen turning his back and walking away from him.
“When he started walking away, it was after my introduction,” Mr Guttenberg told HuffPost. “I was saying to him, ‘I just want to talk to you about what happened to my daughter in Parkland.’”
Mr Kavanaugh later claimed that he did not recognise Mr Guttenberg and assumed he was protester before his security team intervened.
“What today showed is that you clearly are a partisan and do not have the temperament for the court,” Mr Guttenberg said in another tweet following Mr Kavanaugh's testimony. “Even worse, you are just a bad person.”
