Latest news with #SB920
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FSU students march from campus to the Capitol, demanding action
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Less than a week ago, Florida State University turned into a crime scene. Since then, FSU students, advocates, and members of the community have held several rallies to call on state leaders, demanding them to take action before the current session wraps up. Florida State students, who lived through the frightened moments of the shooting, marched to the capitol to plead with state lawmakers. Thursday's shooting killed two men and injured six others, just one mile away from the statehouse. 'A 20-year-old with a gun was devastating my school and I watched from inside the very building where lawmakers have been debating a bill to lower the age to buy a gun back down to 18,' said Samantha Mason, Students Demand Action. That bill, House Bill 759, passed off of the house floor a month ago before the shooting at Florida State. However, its Senate companion bill, SB 920, sponsored by Hillsborough County lawmaker, Jay Collins, seems to be stalled. 'Look at our faces, listen to our stories, and know that we are not going anywhere. You have the power to help us. We're not asking for miracles. We're demanding common sense gun safety laws that save lives,' said Stephanie Horowitz, FSU Student. Horowitz was a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when a 19-year-old killed 17 people and wounded 17 others. 'Four of my friends died that day and I have been visiting their graves since, for the last seven years,' said Horowitz. Horowitz was teaching a class last week at FSU when the suspected shooter Phoenix Ikner made his way to the student union. Now, she is begging lawmakers to prioritize students over guns. Inside the statehouse on Wednesday, Senate members gathered for a session, and while there were no talks of gun legislation, there was a moment of silence for the lives lost and those impacted. 'Last Thursday my FSU family…was rocked by reckless violence on our campus with six students being shot and 2 adults being killed,' said State Senator Corey Simon, (R-Tallahassee). 'Today I rise and ask for a moment of silence for my Seminole family as we mourn those lost and the many lives that have been changed forever.' House Democrats are calling out their Republican colleagues, saying the Republican majority can waive the rules at any time and allow any bill at this point to be heard. Senate President Ben Albritton, House Speaker Daniel Perez, and Governor Ron DeSantis did not publicly address FSU students' concerns about gun violence on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida House votes to repeal gun control measure enacted after Parkland shooting
The Florida House of Representatives voted to repeal a gun control measure passed after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. "Minimum Age for Firearm Purchase or Transfer" (HB 759) would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 for buying a firearm, specifically "a long gun, such as a shotgun or rifle." "To me, this bill is about the right to defend yourself, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to a well-armed militia. It's not about the tragedy," said Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, the bill's sponsor. But while the bill passed the House, a similar bill in the Senate, "Firearm Purchase or Transfer" (SB 920), has not yet been heard in committee. When asked if the House bill was dead in the Senate, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said there's still time. "I think that's premature," Perez said. Gov. Ron DeSantis has been candid about supporting the repeal of age requirements, red-flag laws and for allowing open carry: 'Those are things that a lot of us have been talking about for a long time,' DeSantis said on the opening day of the 2025 legislative session. In early March, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 21-year-old age limit in response to a lawsuit challenging the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, saying it "does not violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments because it is consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation." "From the Founding to the late-nineteenth century, our law limited the purchase of firearms by minors in different ways. The Florida law also limits the purchase of firearms by minors. And it does so for the same reason: to stop immature and impulsive individuals, like (the Parkland shooter), from harming themselves and others with deadly weapons. Those similarities are sufficient to confirm the constitutionality of the Florida law," the opinion says. During debate, Democrats urged House members to consider the court's opinion and to remember the families affected by the Parking shooting. "This law was signed in the blood of the victim's families," said Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, a Broward County School Board member at the time of the Parkland shooting. "Please do not undo the good we have done, and do not slap those families and the community in the face by repealing this law." But Florida's new Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a social media post that he would not defend the law if the NRA, one of the plaintiffs in the suit that was appealed, decided to take it to the U.S. Supreme Court. And House Republicans argued the passage of this bill aligns with other responsibilities given to teens when they turn 18, like voting and joining the military. They also said the repeal would close a "loophole" that lets someone under 21 have a firearm if their parent buys it for them. "Some time ago, this body, meaning to do well, took a wrong turn," said Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, a co-sponsor of the bill. Seventeen students and staff at Douglas High School were killed by a 19-year-old who legally bought an AR-15-style rifle and gunned down the victims at his former high school on Valentine's Day of 2018. Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@ This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida House rolls back age for buying long guns from 21 to 18
Miami Herald
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida Senate president, an NRA member, gets teary over Parkland as rifle law stalls
A controversial proposal to repeal a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and shotguns in Florida is positioned to go to the full House, but the issue remains on hold in the Senate. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 16-6 to approve the bill (HB 759), which would lower the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 21 to 18. Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach, joined Democrats in opposing the bill. The Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott increased the minimum age for gun purchases to 21 after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people. The House approved repeal bills in 2023 and 2024, but the measures did not get through the Senate. With the Legislature ending its third week of this year's regular session, a Senate bill (SB 920) that would roll back the age limit has not been heard in committees. Asked about the issue Wednesday, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, tearfully recalled walking the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and seeing damage from the mass shooting. But he also said he takes serious Second Amendment rights and is a lifetime National Rifle Association member. 'I don't have an answer for that right now,' Albritton said. 'Like I do everything. I am thinking this through.' House bill sponsor Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, pointed Thursday to people in her community who are under 21 and want to have guns for safety. 'We have people in Pensacola who are living at home with young children, 18-, 19-year-old single moms, who have not had the opportunity to have that,' Salzman said. 'And they have expressed to me that they would like to be able to purchase a firearm for the protection of their home.' Broward County School Board Chairwoman Debra Hixon, whose husband Chris Hixon was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, told the House committee that a repeal of the law would indicate lawmakers 'have forgotten who my husband and the other 16 victims were.' 'I believe my job as a public servant is to make sure that my students are safe and that they get home every day,' Hixon said. 'I do believe that's also your job as legislators for our state.' But Luis Valdes of Gun Owners of America said rolling back the age law would admit a mistake when the Legislature 'violated' the Second Amendment in 2018. 'Most importantly, the issue with this legislation is that it disarms women. It disarms young people,' Valdes said. 'It disarms my own daughter. She's 5 years old right now, but when she becomes 18, if she decides to move out of my house and attends college, I want her to be able to defend herself.' Federal law has long barred people under 21 from buying handguns. Thursday's vote came less than a week after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-4 against an NRA challenge to the 2018 law. The panel majority said, in part, the law maintains access as people under 21 can still receive rifles and long guns as gifts from family members. But the issue is likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who took office in February, said he would not defend the law. 'Notwithstanding CA11's opinion today, I believe restricting the right of law-abiding adults to purchase firearms is unconstitutional,' Uthmeier posted Friday on X, referring to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Also, Uthmeier wrote that if the 'NRA decides to seek further review at SCOTUS (the Supreme Court), I am directing my office not to defend this law. Men and women old enough to fight and die for our country should be able to purchase firearms to defend themselves and their families.' Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled he would support changes to state gun laws, including the gun-age restriction. Albritton said he's working with attorneys and Senate staff members to understand the potential 'ramifications' of Uthmeier's announcement that he would not defend the law. 'I've got a respect for every branch of government and have not made any decisions about that at this point,' Albritton said.
