Fred Guttenberg attempts to shake Brett Kavanaugh’s hand. Image by Getty Images

When the father of a student killed in the mass shooting at her high school in Parkland, Florida, earlier this year approached Brett Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court hopeful’s confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh simply walked away.

In a tweet, Fred Guttenberg suggested he attended the hearing to observe discussions about the Second Amendment and gun control, of which he has been a staunch advocate for since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which resulted in the death of his 14-year-old daughter Jamie.

Guttenberg said that he walked up to Kavanaugh as the morning session ended and held out his hand to introduce himself as Jaime Guttenberg’s dad.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away,” Guttenberg tweeted. “I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.”

Just walked up to Judge Kavanaugh as morning session ended. Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg’s dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.

— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018

Here is the photo of me trying to shake Kavanaugh’s hand. https://t.co/5MtQxq5wza

— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018

Wow, here you can hear @fred_guttenberg telling Kavanaugh that his daughter “was murdered in Parkland,” and Kavanaugh whirls and walks away pic.twitter.com/VdkTij2Vdp

— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) September 4, 2018

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 22.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount