“How about kids, instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem, do something about maybe taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations where there is a violent shooter,” Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania and CNN political commentator, said on the cable news network.
– Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum thinks students should learn CPR instead of "looking to someone else to solve their problem" by protesting gun violence—and a lot of doctors think Santorum should get a clue. His remarks were slammed by numerous medical professionals on social media, many of whom pointed out that CPR generally isn't enough to save people shot with AR-15-style rifles like the one used in the Parkland mass shooting, the Huffington Post reports. "I've operated on gunshot victims who've had bullets tear through their intestines, cut through their spinal cord, and pulverize their kidneys and liver," tweeted Eugene Gu, a surgeon at a Nashville hospital. "Rick Santorum telling kids to shut up and take CPR classes is simply unconscionable." Santorum was also criticized by California's Rep. Ted Lieu. "CPR is good for heart stoppage. Not good for victims of multiple AR-15 bullets, which typically impart 3 times the lethal energy upon impact than a 9mm handgun bullet," the Democrat tweeted. "AR-15 bullets obliterate organs and cause so much bleeding that victims die very quickly." Santorum made his remarks on CNN on Sunday, the day after protesters demanded tighter gun laws at March for Our Lives rallies in Washington, DC, and across the US. He said students should learn CPR or learn "to deal with situations" where they could respond to a shooter instead of seeking "phony gun laws." (This was one of the DC rally's most gripping moments.)