Gun control debate rules state campaigns
TALLAHASSEE — Gun politics are dominating the early primary races for governor and other Cabinet seats, with candidates from both parties heating up their rhetoric over the divisive issue.
For Republicans, the debate centers on whether limiting gun rights — even in the wake of a massacre like the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High mass shooting — violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution and brings on the wrath of the powerful National Rifle Association.
For Democrats, the spate of mass shootings, recognizable by names and places like one-named celebrities — Sandy Hook, Pulse, Las Vegas and Parkland — has invigorated gun-control activists. Some politicians who have been lukewarm on the issue are seeking to push it to the forefront of the party agenda.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a GOP candidate for governor, went on the NRA’s TV channel to criticize the gun-control provisions passed by state lawmakers in response to the Stoneman High shooting, blaming the news media for conflating Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old suspect charged with 17 counts of murder, with the rest of gun owners.
“The left-wing media wants to wrap those monsters up with any and all law-abiding citizens who like to collect firearms, who like to go to their local gun range, who like to take their families to the woods to hunt and to shoot,” he said. “They’re missing the point that the vast majority of law-abiding citizens can be trusted with their liberties, and that includes 18-, 19- and 20-year-old adults.”
The bill, which bans bump stocks, raises the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21 and imposes a threeday waiting period on gun buys, was passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican. It also set up a program to train and arm some teachers and school employees, increased funding for mental health counselors and school resource officers and created a “risk protection order” allowing law enforcement to confiscate weapons of those who present violent threats.
One Republican who helped push the bill through was House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who is considering a run for governor. The NRA sent a message to its members Monday alerting them to Corcoran’s “betrayal” for pushing the bill.
He did not respond to a call seeking comment. In an effort to show he’s pro-gun, he sent a memo to a panel considering changes to the state constitution Wednesday expressing “grave concern” at efforts to put gun control measures on the 2018 ballot. Those efforts were defeated.
The NRA has not targeted Scott, who is term-limited but considering a run for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.
Despite its support among a majority of Republicans, a significant faction voted against the new law, including every Republican running in a statewide primary.
“Folks have very strong opinions
about constitutional rights,” said Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover, running for attorney general against three other GOP candidates.
He said he voted against the bill because of the gun control provisions, especially the age limit of 21 for buying a rifle, which he thinks is unconstitutional.
He also wanted the “guardian” program arming staff to be mandatory for school districts.
Sen. Tom Lee of Thonotosassa, another Republican running in a statewide primary for chief financial officer, said that he voted against the bill because the guardian program won’t be adopted in the most populous school districts, and the gun control provisions were “virtually meaningless” because it still allows 18- to 20-year-olds to be given guns as gifts or loaners.
“I think you’ll see this will serve the politicians very well in 2018. Other than that, the teachers don’t like it, law enforcement didn’t like it, the gun control advocates didn’t like it,” he said. “And everybody’s going to spin it for what sells in their district.”
On the Democratic side, gubernatorial hopeful Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum on Tuesday accused former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of undergoing an “election year conversion” to support gun control. Graham, too, is a Democrat running for governor.
“It would have been nice for her to support this fight when she was a sitting member of Congress,” he said. “Democrats can’t trust her on this issue.’’
Graham expressed support for the Second Amendment during her 2014 run for Congress in a conservative North Florida district that included Tallahassee. She said she doesn’t “think that any lawabiding citizen should have any gun that they choose to have taken away from them.”
But she also came out in favor of universal background checks and a limit on high-capacity magazines after the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando in June 2016. Her campaign also noted the NRA opposed her 2014 run and ran $300,000 in ads against her.
Other Democratic gubernatorial candidates have highlighted their gun control proposals, too.
Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine already has run television ads calling for stronger gun-control laws than what lawmakers just approved.
Winter Park businessman Chris King bashed Graham’s record on guns earlier this month, accusing her of being “less than enthusiastic” about the topic.