Parkland father berates ‘charlatan’ David Hogg for ‘absolutely revisionist history’ of Florida law

Ryan Petty, who lost his daughter Alaina in the 2018 Parkland school massacre, called out David Hogg on Sunday for pushing “absolutely revisionist history.”

Hogg was part of a group of students at Stoneman Douglas High School who campaigned for gun control and drew national media attention after the tragedy. In particular, the students started Never Again MSD and organized March for Our Lives.

What happened?

Hogg used social media to push his pro-gun control agenda, claiming that he and his fellow students successfully worked with politicians to pass the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.

“I understand there’s a lot of disagreement about what we should do, but the important thing is that we all agree that there’s something we need to do,” Hogg said. “During Parkland week, we worked with our Republican Legislature and Governor and got gun safety over with [sic] Congress can do the same.”

He added: “The law we created has been used nearly 6,000 times, including once to disarm, through a court order, someone who threatened to kill my own mother. These laws work.”

But according to Petty, Hogg only complicated the legislative process that led to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act becoming law.

“That’s absolute revisionist history and frankly, BS,” Petty replied. “They have done nothing but make it more difficult for us to pass the MSD bill in the Florida Legislature. It’s time to sit down, you charlatan.”

Petty then pointed to articles debunking the narrative that the pro-gun control students were organizing a national response themselves with little help. In reality, the students were backed by Democratic politicians, progressive and liberal advocacy groups, and even Hollywood stars like George Clooney.

In fact, “the reason we got anything done was because the focus of the Parkland legislation was NOT just guns,” Petty later said added.

One more thing?

NBC News reporter Marc Caputo confirmed what Petty said.

“For two decades, I’ve covered Florida politics and the legislature — including the MSD Act,” Caputo said Monday.

“I can attest that the GOP-led Legislature was most moved by parental urging,” he said. “The two Conservatives, Ryan & @AndrewPollackFL, were the most convincing and played outsized roles.”