Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked Florida Democrats this week, describing their efforts to reform state gun laws as a move that will “knee cap” the rights of Florida’s law-abiding citizens.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked Florida Democrats this week, describing their efforts to reform state gun laws as a move that will “knee cap” the rights of Florida’s law-abiding citizens.
“With all due respect to these leftists, they just want to come after your Second Amendment rights,” DeSantis told reporters Wednesday at a press conference in West Palm Beach.
DeSantis’ full-throated rebuke came a day after Florida Democrats launched a poll, asking the GOP-led Legislature to reconvene in Tallahassee and address gun violence. Not a single Republican voted in support of the it, and without DeSantis’ blessing, chances that a GOP majority will sign on are slim to none. Polling closes Friday.
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If successful, though, Democratic lawmakers want to tackle a slew of gun issues — universal background checks, large capacity rifle magazines and an expansion of Florida’s Red Flag law. A successful poll requires 60% support in both chambers, or the blessing of DeSantis and House and Senate leadership.
“Sometimes we throw Hail Mary’s,” said outgoing House Minority Leader Evan Jenne. “I think everyone involved with this knew that this is an uphill battle, but we would not be doing our jobs if we did not continue to press forward on what our constituencies are asking us to do.”
DeSantis’ opposition to bolstering Florida’s gun laws is unsurprising. In lieu of gun legislation, he’s instead harped on the importance of school security, mental health and law enforcement. He doubled down Tuesday, signing into law legislation designed to bolster school safety in Florida.
“Every child needs a safe and secure learning environment,” DeSantis said in a statement.
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The new law orders the state Board of Education to draft policy on school emergency drills and empowers schools safety officers to make arrests on charter school grounds. Local school districts originally drafted their own emergency drills.
The new law also requires police to attend on-campus active shooter drills and further mandates that at least 80% of school staff undergo youth mental health awareness training.
“You focus on the criminal,” DeSantis told reporters Wednesday. “You focus on the lunatic. You don’t knee cap the rights of law abiding citizens.”
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Aventura Democratic Rep. Joe Geller is leading the polling effort in Florida. Speaking Tuesday at a press conference, he described the proposals as “common sense” moves.
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book and a slew of Democratic lawmakers joined Geller at the press event. Book lamented the unwillingness of Republicans to work with Democratic lawmakers and lambasted DeSantis’ plan to allow permit-less carry in Florida.
Known also as constitutional carry, permit-less carry would allow Floridians to posses a firearm in public places without the need of a license. DeSantis in May vowed to enact “constitutional carry” before leaving office.
“How can the governor still support a measure that would allow this reckless, dangerous open carry in the face of dead children, dead students and individuals all across the country?” Book said.
Orlando Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith is also an outspoken critic of permit-less carry. He noted data gathered by Gun Violence Research that suggests states suffer a 22% spike in gun homicide in the years following the passage of permit less carry legislation. At least two dozen states allow some version of permit-less carry, according to the research group.
“The data proves that there are fatal consequences to permit-less carry,” Smith said.
The National Rifle Association, which has championed constitutional carry for three decades nationwide, reported in April that Georgia became the 25th state to pass constitutional carry.
“Half the nation recognizes the Second Amendment protects law-abiding citizens’ right to self-defense as an inherent and inalienable right,” said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s CEO and executive vice president, in a statement.
In a statement issued last week following President Biden’s calls for more gun restrictions, the NRA said it supports improving school security and keeping guns out of criminal hands, but vowed to “fight any proposal that will disarm law-abiding Americans.”
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A growing number of activists are demanding that government take action after the shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school where 19 students and two teachers were slain.
Activists against gun violence are planning a nationwide demonstration Saturday in support of more gun safety legislation. At least two dozen protests are slated in Florida. The protests are organized by March for Our Lives, which was formed after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead, including 14 students.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Wednesday urged activists in Florida to “keep fighting” in support of gun reform.
Fried’s vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination against front-runner U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist. Speaking at an Orlando press conference, she called for the expansion of background checks and red flag laws, which Florida instituted after the Parkland massacre.
Red flag policies allow courts and police to temporarily seize the weapons of individuals considered a danger to themselves or others.
“We’ve seen too much senseless violence, too many preventable deaths and too much suffering in these communities,” said Fried.
According to a 2021 Quinnipiac University poll, most Americans support stricter gun laws. The same poll shows more than half support a nationwide ban on “assault weapon” sales. The term “assault weapon” is often used loosely to describe a semi-automatic rifle.
Jason Delgado is a reporter for the USA Today Network-Florida. He’s based in Tallahassee. Reach him at JDelgado@gannett.com