Ryan Petty — a father who lost his young daughter, 14-year-old Alaina, in the Marjory Stoneman-Douglas High School shooting back in 2018 — has issued a demand for an apology for a recent political ad that went live which showed one Republican candidate and a number of kids as literal targets of gun violence.
The ad being targeted was a mailer that was attempting to promote Loranne Ausley, who is attempting to run and keep her seat within the 3rd District of the Florida State Senate — and it highlighted her political opponent, Republican Corey Simon, on the front of a shooting target. Additional imagery shown on mailers that promoted Ausley spotlighted kids sitting at their desks in a classroom or wearing their backpacks — all of which had been superimposed onto the front of shooting targets.
The ad attempted to expose Simon as an “extremist” and claimed that his policies that stood in support of the 2nd Amendment would only end up causing far more gun violence and additional school shootings.
“I’m asking for [Ausley] to apologize to the Parkland families,” explained Petter to The Daily Wire.
He highlighted another push for an apology from her this past Friday, sharing images directly taken from the offending mailers.
“@LoranneAusley you must apologize immediately. This is wrong and you should have known better. Your constituents deserve better than this,” he explained.
.@LoranneAusley you must apologize immediately. This is wrong and you should have known better. Your constituents deserve better than this. pic.twitter.com/Mme2YEvhbb
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) October 7, 2022
After almost two days, he pointed out that she still had not offered any sort of apology for the insane ad. “Still waiting,” he posted.
Still waiting… https://t.co/deJ7STmQuM
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) October 9, 2022
After previously working alongside Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL), Javon Price issued his own response to the insane ad, claiming, “I find it disgraceful that Democrats like @Lorane Ausley think it’s okay to mail out campaign material with @csime90’s face on a target to shoot & that the media refuses [to] cover stuff like this.”
I find it disgraceful that Democrats like @LoranneAusley think it’s okay to mail out campaign material with @csime90’s face on a target to shoot & that the media refuses cover stuff like this!
The hate Black conservatives face from the Left and the media is unreal pic.twitter.com/8mLsl5kzEm
— Javon A. Price 🇺🇸 (@JavonAPrice) October 3, 2022
Rapid Response Director for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Christina Pushaw, — who previously offered an endorsement to Simon — issued a response as well, stating, “I agree, this is sick and appalling. WAY over the line, especially with recent incidents of political violence in our country. What’s even worse is that Tallahassee media, including @JimRosicaFL & @fineout, see nothing wrong with this … because Loranne Ausley is a Democrat?”
I agree, this is sick and appalling. WAY over the line, especially with recent incidents of political violence in our country.
What's even worse is that Tallahassee media, including @JimRosicaFL & @fineout, see nothing wrong with this… because Loranne Ausley is a Democrat? https://t.co/dsiKKIITR4
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) October 3, 2022
Kathleen Passidomo, the Senate President-designate, put forth her own statement which called for Minority Leader Lauren Book to outright condemn the mailer, which was funded by the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“As Senate President, Minority Leader Lauren Book and I will be called upon to set an example of respect, decorum, common decency and concern for one another for our members, in order to carry out the people’s work. That basic call for humanity shouldn’t have to wait until after the election,” expressed Passidomo. “Minority Leader Book should denounce this mailer and hold accountable those who are responsible for its disgusting content immediately. She shouldn’t tolerate this level of hate now, and she can be sure that it won’t be tolerated in the Florida Senate.”