Florida - Wednesday October 19, 2022: Marco Rubio and Val Demings squared off last night (Tuesday) in their first and only debate in their contest to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate.
The two candidates traded views, in sometimes heated exchanges, over a wide range of issues including abortion.
Rubio: “I’m a hundred percent pro-life. That said, every bill I’ve every sponsored-on abortion, every bill I’ve ever voted for, has exceptions. Everyone of them does because that’s what can pass, and that’s what the people support.”
Demings: “Senator how gullible do you really think Florida voters are. You know that you have said you don’t support any exceptions, even including rape and incest.”
Rubio: “She supports taxpayer funded abortion on demand for any reason at any time up until the moment of birth.”
Demings: “I support a woman’s right to choose up to the time of viability. And to stand over there and say I support abortions up to the time of birth is just a lie.”
And they had this exchange over gun control:
Demings: “Senator you used the Pulse night club shooting as your inspiration to run again for the Senate in 2016. And yet you’ve done nothing to help address gun violence and get dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people.”
Rubio: “One of the first things I did when I got back to Washington is I sponsored a bi-partisan red-flag law that would allow the police department to go before a judge and remove your gun if they can prove that you are a danger.”
Demings: “After Parkland, after you made promises that you had no intention of keeping to the parents of Parkland, Florida passed red flag laws raising the age to have an assault weapon that we’ve seen seven-thousand plus instances where they’ve been used.”
Rubio: “What makes no sense is that we’re going to actually pass laws that only law-abiding people will follow and criminals will continue to violate. The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day Americans have a Second Amendment right to protect themselves.”