Despite El Paso, Dayton, Moody remains opposed to weapons ban
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody was not backing down Monday from her opposition to a proposed assault weapons ban, despite the weekend’s mass shootings.
At a news conference in Jacksonville, Moody called the petition by the group Ban Assault Weapons Now, which would ban rifles and shotguns capable of handling magazines with more than 10 rounds, as a “hide the ball” proposal, according to Florida Politics. She called it a “deceitful and misleading … farreaching and misleading” pro
posal that “would mislead voters thinking they were banning a specific type of firearm when in fact they were banning virtually every long gun,” Florida Politics reported.
Moody said she was “horrified and saddened” by the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, which killed a combined 30 people – and in which the Dayton shooter used a drum containing 100 rounds he used to kill nine people in 30 seconds. But she said her office had an obligation to make sure a ballot proposal is clear and unambiguous.
Florida’s attorney general has the option to challenge ballot proposals as they make their way through the process of getting on the ballot, which includes getting more than 766,000 signatures and a review by the state Supreme Court.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi challenged the medical marijuana ballot proposal, which eventually passed in 2016, but had no objections to Amendment 4 in 2018, which restored voting rights to former felons.
The text of the ballot measure states the amendment “Prohibits possession of assault weapons, defined as semiautomatic rifles and shotguns capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition at once, either in fixed or detachable magazine, or any other ammunition-feeding device. Possession of handguns is not prohibited. Exempts military and law enforcement personnel in their official duties. Exempts and requires registration of assault weapons lawfully possessed prior to this provision’s effective date. Creates criminal penalties for violations of this amendment.”
Moody has been criticized by Ban Assault Weapons Now, a group that includes family members of the Parkland shooting and Pulse nightclub shooting survivors, including Ricardo Negron-Almodovar and Brandon Wolf, for her A rating from the National Rifle Association, which they claim is the reason she opposes