Surrendering to gun lobby not an option
Driving home from Tallahassee the day after the Florida House approved two firearms “carry” bills, I thought about the two nights of debate and why, despite all odds, I felt more determined than ever that we will bring common-sense gun laws to our state.
I had listened to a lawmaker say he “didn’t care” that professors don’t want guns on their campuses — he was voting for the bill. I had heard a prominent representative claim that people who want guns everywhere matter more than the people who don’t.
The discussions were long and heated before lawmakers voted to approve bills that would allow permit holders to bring their concealed firearms onto our state’s public college and university campuses and allow those same permit holders to openly carry their handguns off campus.
For the few determined souls remaining in the gallery on the night of the debate, the message was clear: The majority of House members couldn’t care less about the safety of the public.
Representatives loudly rejected sensible amendments that would have prohibited open-carry near elementary schools and polling places. They agreed to allow lawmakers to carry concealed weapons in the chambers of the Legislature. Open-carry didn’t much appeal to them though.
I witnessed the sponsors of these proposals receive standing ovations when their bills passed while students — among those who would be most endangered by the proposals — watched from the gallery above. The appeals from African-American representatives, concerned about racial profiling and the impact of “stand your ground” if the bills were to pass, fell on deaf ears.
The hours passed, and the pleas to listen to reason, to protect our children, our citizens, faded before the final votes were cast. Everyone present knew the way the votes would go. Yet a few courageous lawmakers had raised their voices anyway, knowing their arguments would be ignored and that they would become targets of the gun lobby.
And so will the League of Women Voters of Florida lift our voices. We will not shrink in the face of the National Rifle Association and those legislators in its pocket. We will not sit idly by as some lawmakers ignore the better interests of the public.
I witnessed, firsthand, the importance of voting, of taking a stand on important issues, of never giving up the fight to protect our friends and loved ones from reckless gun laws that enable violence.
We urge citizens to contact their representatives, and if they are unhappy with the status quo, to vote. The tide is turning toward gun safety, and one day, it will reach the shore.