Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the family of Parkland shooting Alaina Petty, must have known that the House and Senate response to the shooting was in political trouble. In a rare visit to the a floor session of the House and Senate Thursday, Scott urged lawmakers to act now and introduced Ryan Petty, Alaina's father.
"There's nothing we can do to bring my daughter, Alaina, back,'' he said, and noted that she believed in service, and spoke about her work with the families in Everglades City and the Keys in the wake of Hurricane Irma to help them "in their time of need."
"As a tribute to her I'm here today, as a final act of service to my daughter Alaina, to make sure this never happens again,'' he said. "This time must be the last time. Make it the last time. Don't get mired down. Secure the schools. Keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them. Let's get mental health initiatives passed. I'm here to speak on behalf of what the governor has proposed."
He said he asked them to "set aside our difference. Let's make sure our schools are safe. Florida can lead."
Scott told the Senate that what happened was tragic and reminded them "to make sure to get the right thing done,
"We have a job to do,'' he said. "This can never happen again" and said he was optimistic.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, repeated his promise to "pass comprehensive legislation that will reduce the chance that this will ever happen again."
He said "nothing we can do this session will fill the void created in Petty family, or other families we have visited with, that are impacted by this horrific act of violence but we will do our best to honor their memory by doing our part of pass legislation and to make funding decisions that address this situation in an appropriate way."
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