Students say Florida gun control proposals ‘not enough’

Governor wants more guards, limits on who can buy guns

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.— Florida’s governor announced plans Friday to put more armed guards in schools and to make it harder for young adults and some with mental illness to buy guns, responding to days of intense lobbying from survivors of last week’s shooting at a Florida high school.

Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his school safety proposals as teachers returned for the first time to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since the shooting nine days ago that killed 17 people.

The shooting sparked an intense push to restrict access to assault rifles fuelled by student activists who swarmed the state capitol demanding concrete gun control measures.

President Donald Trump said repeatedly Friday that he favoured arming teachers to protect students, an idea many educators rejected.

“I am totally against arming teachers,” Broward schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said. “They have a challenging job as it is.”

Scott, a Republican widely expected to run for the Senate, outlined his plan at a news conference. In addition to banning firearm sales to anyone under 21, the governor called for a trained law enforcement officer for every school — and one for every 1,000 students at larger schools — by the time the fall 2018 school year begins.

Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which has more than 3,000 students, had one armed resource officer who never entered the building under attack while a gunman was shooting people inside, officials said.

Among other things, the governor’s $500-million (U.S.) plan would create a “violent threat restraining order” that would let a court prohibit a violent or mentally ill person from purchasing or possessing a firearm or any other weapon under certain circumstances.

The proposal would also strengthen gun purchase and possession re- strictions for mentally ill people. Scott is seeking $50 million for initiatives that include expanding mental health services by providing counselling, crisis management and other mental health services for youth and young adults.

“No one with mental issues should have access to a gun. It is common sense. It for their own best interest, much less the best interest of our communities,” Scott said.

The governor’s plan made no mention of arming teachers on school grounds.

However, the Legislature’s Republican leadership proposed letting teachers carry a gun if they have had law enforcement training. The legislators’ plan also calls for a three-day waiting period for most gun purchases, with exceptions.

Democrats said neither plan goes far enough.

“Unfortunately, both plans omit a third, critically important piece of legislation Democrats have been and continue to push for: a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines,” said state Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon. He added that recent mass shootings show that “so long as these high powered weapons of war remain available for purchase these killings will continue.”

Talia Rumsky, a 16-year-old Stoneman Douglas High student, was among those who travelled to Tallahassee Wednesday to advocate for gun control.

She said Scott’s plan to make it illegal for anyone under 21to purchase a gun is a start, but said she doesn’t think it goes far enough.

“This is a great first step and we appreciate it,” Rumsky said. “But it’s not enough and we’re going to make sure they know it’s not enough and is not solving our problems.”

Classes at the school resume Wednesday.