Congressman questions whether state bill could've changed outcome at FSU
Fine served as a state senator in Tallahassee before voters sent him to Washington, D.C. He filed Senate Bill 814 to allow students to carry concealed firearms on campus.
2 food service employees killed in FSU shooting
During a Senate hearing regarding that bill, the then-senator made a plea for lawmakers to approve the measure so it could move to the Senate floor. He told them he filed the bill after he felt Jewish college students were being mistreated during pro-Israel protests.
'I made a decision at that point that if schools would not protect these children, then I would make sure that they could protect themselves,' Fine said.
The lawmaker had more to add in his attempt to gain support for his bill.
'There is no magic force field that keeps guns from coming onto our college campuses. There is not one,' Fine said. 'There are guns on college campuses right now; lots of them. They are just being carried by the people who don't follow the rules.'
All 6 injured victims expected to make full recoveries following deadly FSU mass shooting
Senate democrats on the Criminal Justice Committee pushed back. Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo spoke out against the measure.
'If there was a bill that spoke to much more funding for security, armed security for the protection of students, I would be all for it,' Pizzo said.
Pizzo represents voters near the Miami-Dade and Broward County line, and there's discussion that he may run for governor.
'My other son is entering college this fall, and I don't trust his peers, his classmates, to have a gun in their dorm room. I just don't,' Pizzo said.
One of Fine's final bills in the Florida legislature failed to move forward after a 4-3 vote.
Who is FSU shooter Phoenix Ikner, stepson of Florida deputy?
Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia, out of Miami, joined democrats to vote no.
Garcia recently posted on X, part:
'I have zero regret. Proud to have voted against your moronic campus carry bill, that didn't have a house companion. This decision wasn't about partisan politics; it was rooted in common sense.'
Fine posted on X by calling Garcia a 'so-called republican.'
Last month, a bill to lower the age to buy a firearm from 21 to 18 passed the state house. So far, it's unclear if its companion, Senate Bill 920, will make it onto the floor for a vote.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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