The politics of guns in Florida are shifting, so how far will it go? This week: the test case

A powerful Florida Senate committee is expected to approve a package of bills Monday that are bitterly opposed by the National Rifle Association.

That is news.

It’s the first time in more than a decade that legislation opposed by the politically powerful interest group will have advanced in Florida’s Republican-led Legislature. So is this the tipping point of the gun debate that has been dominated for the last decade by the gun-rights lobby?

The answer to that will come when the Senate Rules Committee votes on an amendment to SPB 7022 on Monday by Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami. He proposes a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms, including AR-15s, sold in Florida.

If Rodriguez’s amendment is rejected, the gun lobby will take credit, as it has for every attempt to block gun control in Florida for years.

The NRA has become a domineering force in Florida politics because of its ability to motivate single-issue voters to reward Republicans who support its agenda and punish those who don’t. But there is another reason that legislators are reluctant to impose limits on gun access in Florida that is of their own making: the absence of competition in a majority of the Florida legislative districts. Story here. 

Photo: A man signs a poster at a memorial for the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. David Santiago [email protected]

Former House Speaker Allan Bense: I'm an NRA supporter and I support raising age limits for assault weapons

 

Former House Speaker Allan Bense said in an email to the Herald/Times Tuesday that although he has been a devoted supporter of the National Rifle Association, "a very difficult question to answer, for me, is why any civilian should be allowed to own an AR-15 or military-style semi-automatic weapon."

His conclusion: "at the very least, we should all be able to agree that raising the age to 21 for legal possession of a semi-automatic rifle makes sense. 

Bense, a Panama City Republican who was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2004 to 2006, agreed to have the  email published. "Yes, it's time'' he said.

Here it is:

Hi Mary Ellen -- 

I hope all is well with you. I know it must be very difficult reporting the news out of Broward County recently. However, it is important that we all know what happened and that our lawmakers have all the facts with which to make some very important decisions over the next few weeks. I’m glad you and your colleagues are getting that truth out.

As you know, I live and represented the most " pro-gun” part of Florida and I’ve always been an ardent supporter of protecting our individual liberties and freedoms, including our Second Amendment rights. In fact, as you may recall, I sponsored a major bill that protected gun manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits. My support for gun owners and their rights hasn’t changed, but I do believe there are some actions we must take immediately in order to keep Floridians as safe as possible."

I like some of the options being discussed by leaders like Senator Rubio and former Governor Bush. Allowing family members and law enforcement to raise a red flag when someone shows warning signs of violence makes a lot of sense and would empower families to keep guns away from dangerous individuals. Obviously, improving background checks and improved funding for our mental health system are a must - immediately. Also, giving our mental health professionals more leeway to cooperate with law enforcement proactively, rather than reactively makes a lot of sense.

A very difficult question to answer, for me, is why any civilian should be allowed to own an AR-15 or military-style semi-automatic weapon. I am sure there are many arguments on both sides, which should be debated, but I think, at the very least, we should all be able to agree that raising the age to 21 for legal possession of a semi-automatic rifle makes sense. It is the law for handguns, and should be the law for semi-automatic rifles as well, in my opinion.

In the aftermath of the horrific events in Parkland, all options should be on the table and, over the next few weeks of session, our lawmakers must have a full and complete discussion about how we can best keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Most importantly, they must take action - every action upon which they can reach a consensus - our safety, and our children’s safety, is just too important for any more delay.

Best regards, 

Allan Bense

 

Parkland students want to turn tragedy to traction and demand change for gun laws in Tallahassee

One hundred students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will travel to Tallahassee for a Wednesday march on the state Capitol in the first organized protest of their #NeverAgain movement.

Their demand: that Florida legislators use the remaining three weeks of the annual session to revise state mental health and gun laws to forestall a repeat of the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead.

“It really needs to be recognized that they need to stop fighting each other and starting working together,’’ said Jaclyn Corin, 17, junior class president and a survivor of the shooting, who conceived the idea for the two-day trip. “This has to be the last school this happens to.”

The students and about 15 parent chaperones will travel to Tallahassee by bus on Tuesday in advance of small-group meetings with legislators that are planned for Wednesday, then return later that day. They leave following a Tuesday morning funeral of Carmen Schentrup, 16, who was killed when their former classmate, Nikolas Cruz, killed students and teachers with an AR-15 on Valentine’s Day. Story here. 

Proposal to allow guns at courthouses will be back in 2018

@ByKristenMClark

Sarasota Republican Sen. Greg Steube is reviving one of the less controversial of his gun bills from last session, which would let concealed-weapons permit-holders carry their firearms into Florida courthouses and store the weapons temporarily with building security.

Steube on Thursday filed a bill for the 2018 session (SB 134) that puts that same proposal back on the table. It has a viable chance, if this spring was any indication.

The measure nearly cleared the Legislature during the final week of the 2017 session, when House Republicans abruptly moved to rush his bill to the floor even though the chamber had not yet considered any such proposal. (Steube’s measure had passed the Senate by a 19-15 vote just a couple days prior, after being vetted and approved by three Senate committees, but no companion measure existed in the House.)

But the House backtracked the next day after trading with Democrats to ensure a priority of Senate leadership would be voted out instead. Steube’s bill died as a result, although it likely had the votes to pass.

Steube could not be reached for comment Thursday morning, so it’s not yet clear whether a House version will be offered in 2018. Lawmakers are just beginning to file bills for the next session.

Steube has argued the so-called “courthouse carry” measure would particularly help attorneys to defend themselves, if needed, while entering and leaving courthouses because current law forces visitors to leave their firearms in their vehicles.

The concept drew relatively little opposition compared to other, more polarizing gun bills the Legislature debates annually. However, the plan would impose an unknown — and likely unfunded — cost on local and state courts because officials would have to install lockers or other secure storage for which to temporarily house visitors’ firearms.

Steube, a staunch advocate of Second Amendment rights, is also the architect of more divisive gun proposals that are likely to resurface in 2018, such as “campus carry” — which would let concealed-carry permit-holders carry guns on public college and university campuses. Nearly 1.8 million people have concealed-weapons permits in Florida.

The 2018 session begins in January, but legislative committee weeks — when lawmakers begin to hear bills — start in September.

Photo credit: Herald/Times file

Putnam: 'There is absolutely a pathway for Florida to get to a form of open carry'

@ByKristenMClark

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a top Republican contender for governor next year, said he would support proposed changes in Florida law to let "law-abiding gun owners" carry firearms on college and university campuses and openly in public places.

Conservative lawmakers in the Florida Legislature have pushed for both proposals, but in the past two years, the measures died in the Senate where moderate Miami-Dade Republicans used their influence to halt the bills. The pieces of legislation -- strongly supported by the National Rifle Association -- are likely to return in the 2018 session, and Putnam told reporters Tuesday the concepts have his endorsement.

"There is absolutely a pathway for Florida to get to a form of open carry," said Putnam, the lone Republican gubernatorial candidate to date.

"We have a track record in Florida of law-abiding citizens who submit their fingerprints, undergo a background check and lawfully exercise their 2nd Amendment rights," Putnam said in reference to Florida's process of obtaining a concealed-weapons permit. "Continuing to expand their opportunities to exercise those 2nd Amendment rights is something I support."

Full story here.

Photo credit: Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a Republican candidate for governor, speaks at a press conference Tuesday at the Florida National Guard Armory in Tallahassee. Kristen M. Clark / Herald/Times

In final session votes, lawmakers trade 'Stand Your Ground' for religious liberties in schools

By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida

A change to the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law is heading to Gov. Rick Scott after the Senate agreed late Friday to go along with a House proposal.

The House and Senate both wanted to change the law but had clashed on a legal issue in the bill (SB 128).

But with time running out in the legislative session Friday, the Senate voted 22-14 — with Tallahassee Democrat Bill Montford joining Republicans in support — to accept the House proposal.

The move came in exchange for getting the House to accept the Senate’s more far-reaching language on a separate measure (SB 436) dealing with religious expression in public schools.

“I thought that it was a reasonable resolution to both matters, and they’re both constitutional issues,” said Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who sponsored the “stand your ground” bill. “And we wrapped it all up in a bow, and we resolved them both in a satisfactory manner.”

More here.

Photo credit: AP

Dems' guarantee of swift vote on water bill killed Republicans' last-minute gun bill

@ByKristenMClark

House Republicans quietly agreed Tuesday to pull from the floor a gun bill not yet considered at all by the chamber, after trading with Democrats to ensure a priority of the Senate president — also not previously vetted by the House — would be voted out that same day.

It’s a prime example of the type of deal-making and horse-trading that’s commonplace in the Florida Legislature during the final days of session.

Had SB 616 been heard on the House floor Tuesday as planned, the Republican-led chamber likely would have easily approved it on Wednesday. But instead, Democrats were able to use the power of their 41-member caucus — something they can’t often do — to convince House Speaker Richard Corcoran not to hear the bill, after all.

“Today, you saw the power of the Democrats,” House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz, of Tampa, said. “It was a good day, a very good day.”

More here.

Photo credit: AP

Steube's courthouse gun bill goes immediately to House floor -- with no vetting there

@ByKristenMClark

In an extremely rare move, House leaders are rushing a gun bill that none of their members have considered to the floor during the final week of session.

Lawmakers in the House will take up SB 616 on Tuesday — a Senate-approved proposal that would allow concealed weapons permit-holders to store their guns with security while visiting state courthouses.

MORE: “Visitors’ guns could be secured in Florida courthouses”

The Rules & Policy Committee, chaired by Miami Lakes Republican Rep. Jose Oliva, put the bill on the daily floor calendar after senators passed it on Friday.

Because the bill did not have a House companion, it’s brand new to lawmakers in that chamber, and they won’t have a chance to first vet it in a policy committee.

The move is highly unusual and also deprives members of the public a chance to address their representatives at a public meeting before the floor vote.

More here.

Photo credit: House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, talks with House Rules & Policy chairman Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes. Scott Keeler / Tampa Bay Times

Gun bill affecting Florida courthouses passes final committee, goes to Senate floor

@ByKristenMClark

A proposed law that would let 1.7 million conceal-carry permit-holders temporarily store their guns with security while visiting Florida's courthouses is on its way to the Senate floor.

SB 616 from Sarasota Republican Sen. Greg Steube passed its final committee Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Rules Committee endorsed the relatively non-controversial measure -- with at least a couple Democrats opposed -- after offering no discussion or debate.

More details here.

Photo credit: AP

No further hearings on gun bills in Senate Judiciary after all

@ByKristenMClark

Earlier this month, Senate Judiciary chairman Greg Steube had told the Herald/Times he wasn’t giving up on holding a hearing for some of his more controversial gun bills this year, which proposed to eliminate some “gun-free” zones in Florida.

But it appears the Sarasota Republican is backing off.

His committee will meet for the final time on Wednesday and, while it’s a packed agenda, there are no gun bills slated to be heard. (Here’s the agenda.)

Full details here. 

Photo credit: Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota. AP