Why did Lauren Boebert throw away a pin honoring an Uvalde shooting victim?
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert threw a pin honoring a 10-year-old victim of the Uvalde school shooting into a trashcan seconds after receiving it.
Gun rights activist and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert threw away a pin honoring 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez who died at the Uvalde school shooting in May last year. The pin represented the green Converse shoes that the little girl was wearing when she was killed. Maite’s family was able to identify her body because of the shoes. Boebert was given the pin by a gun control advocate who was passing them out to members of Congress, and she tossed it into a trashcan soon after receiving it.
Update: 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. https://t.co/51amIYJiUx pic.twitter.com/Yh4lboUr8t
— sarah fishkind (@sarahefishkind) July 18, 2023
Boebert: I had AirPods in
In a video, Boebert apologized for what she called “the appearance” of disrespecting a child by throwing the memorial pin into the trash. She said she responded in the manner which she did because she was wearing AirPods and that she recognized the man who handed her the pin as someone who had acted aggressively towards her a few weeks before during a press conference.
Lauren Boebert apologized for “the appearance” of “disrespecting a child” killed in the Uvalde school shooting after a video of her throwing away her memorial pin went viral.
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) July 24, 2023
Boebert partially blamed throwing the pin away on wearing AirPods and claimed the man was “aggressive.” pic.twitter.com/otyk9XPaxa
“He was so aggressive that he was apprehended by another member and detained by Capitol Police officers,” she said. Boebert added that she was “very vocal” about the shooting when it took place. “I do what I do because I want to protect our children, I want to make sure they are safe and secure,” she said.
Activist contests Boebert’s version of events
However, the activist who gave Boebert the pin, Elijah Pelton, contradicted the legislator’s version of events. Pelton told The Independent that the representative was confusing him with another activist who confronted her several weeks ago. The memorial pins were being distributed along with a pamphlet on behalf of parents of the murdered children which is calling on members of Congress to reinstate the ban on assault weapons. Boebert co-chairs the Second Amendment Caucus, which is composed of representatives who support the right to own and bear ams.