School Climate & Safety

A Missed Handshake Sparks Controversy for U.S. Supreme Court Pick

By Andrew Ujifusa — September 11, 2018 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing veered into unexpected territory last week when a brief encounter between him and the father of a student killed in a school shooting became the center of internet-fueled controversy.

When a break was called during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings on Sept. 4, Kavanaugh was approached by Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed along with 16 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February.

Guttenberg, an outspoken gun-control advocate in the wake of his daughter’s killing, walked toward Kavanaugh, identified himself, and tried to shake the nominee’s hand. Video shows that Kavanaugh stared at him briefly before he turned and walked away. Kavanaugh did not shake Guttenberg’s hand.

Polarizing Image

Supreme Court nominees are typically closely guarded by security and are moved quickly in and out of these hearings. The White House later shared a video showing what it said was security intervening and escorting Guttenberg away before Kavanaugh could shake his hand.

See Also

Supreme Court Nominee Grilled at Confirmation Hearing

It’s possible that Kavanaugh was just being cautious about shaking hands with someone he had not previously met. At the same time, it’s not clear that Guttenberg, who was a guest of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was violating protocol in approaching Kavanaugh as the hearing broke for lunch.

Either way, the resulting images quickly gained traction among Kavanaugh’s critics.

“If Kavanaugh won’t even give him a handshake, how can we believe he would give gun-violence victims a fair shake in court?” Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., a member of the committee, tweeted from her Senate Twitter account.

And gun-control advocates used the incident to link the National Rifle Association’s financial support for President Donald Trump’s election campaign, Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh, and Kavanaugh’s dissent from two other judges on the District of Columbia federal appeals court who ruled in favor of a ban on most semi-automatic rifles and a firearms-registration requirement in the city. (More broadly, conservatives have portrayed him as a defender of Second Amendment rights.)

“THIS is what corruption looks like,” Igor Volsky, the executive director of Guns Down America, said on Twitter.

Not everyone, however, thought that the incident reflected badly on Kavanaugh or that Guttenberg’s attempt to meet him was appropriate.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow Pollack was also killed at Stoneman Douglas, said that Kavanaugh was not responsible for his daughter’s death and should be confirmed by the Senate.

“Stop weaponizing Parkland to advance a dangerous political agenda!” Pollack tweeted.

Guttenberg was not in the hearing room the next day, Sept. 5, when Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., offered Kavanaugh the chance to address the encounter with the Parkland father. Kavanaugh did not do so directly, saying, “I base my decisions on the law. But I do so with an awareness of the facts and the real-world consequences. I have not lived in a bubble.”

Guttenberg arrived later in the day and voiced disappointment with Kavanaugh’s statements.

“All he had to do was say—he didn’t have to make it about me—just say to the victims of gun violence, who’ve suffered loss, who want [Kavanaugh] to hear them, is ‘I do,’ ” Guttenberg told Education Week. “He could have said something about me if he wanted, that’s up to him. He said nothing meaningful. And he flubbed it.”

Contributing writer Mark Walsh contributed to this article.
A version of this article appeared in the September 12, 2018 edition of Education Week as A Missed Handshake, Then Controversy

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Creating Resilient Schools with a Trauma-Responsive MTSS
Join us to learn how school leaders are building a trauma-responsive MTSS to support students & improve school outcomes.
School & District Management Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: We Can’t Engage Students If They Aren’t Here: Strategies to Address the Absenteeism Conundrum
Absenteeism rates are growing fast. Join Peter DeWitt and experts to learn how to re-engage students & families.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety States Emphasize School Violence Prevention, Not Just Security
In the wake of school shootings in their states last year, legislators hope to avert future tragedies.
7 min read
Local residents pray during a candlelight vigil following a shooting at Perry High School, on Jan. 4, 2024, in Perry, Iowa.
Local residents pray during a candlelight vigil following a shooting at Perry High School, on Jan. 4, 2024, in Perry, Iowa. The deaths in school shootings last year have led to new legislation in a half-dozen states.
Charlie Neibergall/AP
School Climate & Safety Leader To Learn From One Leader’s Plan to Cut Chronic Absenteeism—One Student at a Time
Naomi Tolentino helps educators in Kansas City, Kan., support strong school attendance.
9 min read
Naomi Tolentino Miranda leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino Miranda showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Naomi Tolentino leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Q&A What a 'Positive, Proactive Approach' to Chronic Absenteeism Looks Like
A Kansas City, Kan., leader explains how her district shifted its approach to chronic absenteeism.
6 min read
Naomi Tolentino Miranda walks into J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino Miranda is the Coordinator for Student Support Programs and often visits school administrative teams to check on their progress combating chronic absenteeism among their students.
Naomi Tolentino walks into J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. Tolentino is the coordinator for student support programs and often visits school administrative teams to check on their progress in lowering chronic absenteeism among their students.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion Schools Can’t Just ‘Return to Normal’ After a Climate Disaster
This is what’s missing when education leaders urge schools to return to normalcy too soon after crises or disasters.
Jaleel R. Howard & Sam Blanchard
5 min read
A jungle gym melted and destroyed by the Eaton Fire is seen at a school, Jan. 15, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
The Easton Fire melted a jungle gym outside a school in Altadena, Calif.
John Locher/AP