TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Republican state lawmakers in Florida are rescinding gun control measures passed in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Two bills were introduced.
Even with a conservative supermajority in the Legislature, the bill is expected to face some resistance in the state Senate, where the new speaker has voiced opposition to certain gun control proposals. .
After a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others at a suburban Broward County high school in 2018, survivors of the Parkland massacre and families of victims descended on the state Capitol and attacked Republican-led police. engaged in extraordinary advocacy demanding action. Congress had previously avoided gun control measures, but passed sweeping legislation just weeks after the shooting.
These included red flag laws that would allow courts to take away guns from people who pose a danger to themselves or others, and measures to raise the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21. Gun rights activists have been active ever since. rescind those provisions;
“I look forward to seeing our state once again earn the title of Gunshine State, where God-given gifts are traded in exchange for empty promises of security by politicians,” said Republican state Rep. Joel Rudman. “The people will no longer be able to demand the freedoms that were previously granted to them.” His proposed bill would allow the open carrying of firearms and repeal red flag laws.
Republican Sen. Randy Fine has introduced a bill that would repeal the law banning people under 21 from purchasing rifles.
Rudman and Fine are running in a crowded primary race for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after President-elect Donald Trump nominated two Florida congressmen to his next administration.
While the Florida House has advanced gun control legislation in the years since Parkland, leaders in the state Senate have blocked certain bills. Last month, new Senate President Ben Albritton told reporters he doesn’t support open carry and is skeptical about repealing other bills passed in response to mass shootings in 2018. he said.
“I have supported law enforcement all my life (…) and I continue to support and oppose law enforcement today,” Albritton said of open carry.
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