TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As Florida State University students, staff and families grieve following a deadly on-campus shooting, several state lawmakers said now is the time to rethink a controversial gun bill that’s moving through the legislature.
The Florida House Democratic Caucus leaders held a virtual news conference on Monday, devoting a major portion of their remarks to the shooting at FSU.
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“There isn’t a community in Florida that hasn’t been impacted by gun violence,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell of Hillsborough County.
The backstory:
The comments come after a gunman opened fire on FSU’s campus, killing two people and wounding six others.
Days before the shooting, a bill passed through the Florida House of Representatives that would lower the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 21 to 18 years old.
Big picture view:
The bill would undo a bipartisan law passed after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 that raised the minimum age to 21. Democratic leaders believe the law has helped reduce the number of shootings.
“What we don’t want to do is add fuel to the fire. What we don’t want to do is try to exacerbate situations like what we just saw at Florida State,” Driskell said.
The other side:
Supporters of the new bill, however, said last month lowering the age limit to 18 is a matter of consistency and giving people the right to defend themselves.
“We are either an adult at 18 or we’re not. It’s legitimately that simple. That’s the basis of this argument,” said Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Hillsborough County.
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“If you are treated as an adult to defend our country and to vote in our country, we must not infringe upon your constitutional rights,” added Rep. Judson Sapp, R-Putnam County.
What’s next:
A related bill in the Florida Senate was proposed and would need to pass. At the moment, however, it has not been discussed in committees.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Aaron Mesmer. It also contains previous FOX 13 News reports on the shooting at Florida State University.
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