GOP Cuban-American lawmaker defends Emma González from Steve King

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Tuesday came to the defense of Parkland student Emma González after Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) shared a photo criticizing her.

Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American lawmaker who is not seeking reelection this year, in a series of tweets called for people to learn about a person’s community before going after a high school student.

“Thanks to @RepTedDeutch who has been doing great work in calling attention to the need for common sense #gun measures that Congress should adopt,” she tweeted, tagging Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.).

“.@RepTedDeutch told me that the dad of @Emma4Change wanted to speak to me because @SteveKing and others are wrongly interpreting why she wore a Cuban flag on her jacket during #MarchForOurLives rally.”

She said she spoke to González’s father, who explained that the Parkland student is “proud of her dad and abuela’s #Cuban heritage and in no way was it a sign of support for the #Castro dictatorship.”

“Many #Miami homes also have Cuban flags, @SteveKingIA,” said Ros-Lehtinen, a fiery critic of Castro. 

“That doesn’t equal support 4 Castro. Folks should learn about our community before criticizing a high school student.”

Many #Miami homes also have Cuban flags, @SteveKingIA. That doesn’t equal support 4 Castro. Folks should learn about our community before criticizing a high school student

— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) March 27, 2018

King on Sunday shared a photo on Facebook that criticized González for promoting gun control while wearing a patch on her jacket of the Cuban flag.

“This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet don’t speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence their right to self defense,” the text in the Facebook post said. 

King shared the photo after González gave an emotional speech Saturday at the March for Our Lives rally Saturday in Washington, D.C.