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Sen. Ernst on CBS' Face The Nation

Posted at 6:18 PM, Mar 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-26 19:18:57-04

A U.S. senator from Iowa reiterated her position as an advocate for the second amendment following national rallies from gun control over the weekend.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R, Iowa) said on CBS' "Face The Nation" the U.S. should be cautious about "stripping rights away from law-abiding citizens."

"I think that the status quo is not okay and that's what these young demonstrators are speaking out against," Ernst said on the program. "And we do have to find a way forward."

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were gunned down in February, say getting young Americans mobilized and registered to vote will be their focus in the months to come. Also speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" and other Sunday morning news programs, student Cameron Kasky called young voter turnout in recent elections "embarrassing."

Kasky said: "The youth of America need to step up and start voting." He appeared on the show with Emma Gonzalez and other student leaders after helping leading a march in Washington, D.C., to call for stricter gun laws.

U.S. Rep. Steve King's (R, Iowa) campaign Facebook page on Sunday featured a picture of Emma Gonzalez as she gave a speech at Saturday's "March for Our Lives" rally in Washington. Alongside a photo of Gonzalez, who wore a Cuban flag patch, the page noted Gonzalez's Cuban heritage and stated her "ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens."
    
Hundreds responded with outrage and blasted King for criticizing a young student who had survived a school shooting. The campaign repeatedly defended the initial statement, and in response to one comment wrote it was "just pointing out the irony of someone wearing a communist flag while advocating for gun control."
    
A call to his campaign rang unanswered.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.