Bush, Rubio hang tough on guns
WASHINGTON — Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who turned Florida into a model of gun ownership a decade ago, is sticking to his gunrights stance in the 2016 presidential race.
“Florida is a pro-gun state,” Bush asserted while campaigning in Nevada recently, proudly touting his A+ grading by the National Rifle Association.
While Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton was calling for “gun reforms that keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the violently unstable,” Bush said gun-control proposals would not stop mass shootings of the kind that killed nine churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., in June.
Their comments reflect differences between Republican and Democratic candidates on gun control, setting up clear choices for
voters next year. The debate also calls attention to Florida’s reputation as a gun-toting state that makes it easy to buy and carry firearms without much government intrusion.
“Florida is a dangerous laboratory, where the gun lobby looks to pass some of their latest, newest laws, which make Florida’s already weak gun laws even weaker,” said Brian Malte, senior national policy director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, cited a 2007 investigation by the Sun Sentinel which found that more than 1,400 Floridians had valid concealed-weapons licenses, even though they had pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies.
Gun-ownership groups, on the other hand, praise Florida’s record and give high ratings to Bush and other Republican presidential contenders, including three others from Florida: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of West Miami, Dr. Ben Carson of West Palm Beach and Mike Huckabee, who lives near Destin.
The NRA gave Rubio an A grade throughout his time in the Florida House, where he voted 100 percent for NRA-supported legislation. As a U.S. senator, Rubio has a perfect voting score for NRA-backed legislation.
As governor, Jeb earned an A+ rating from the NRA “for his unwavering support of the Second Amendment and his leadership in defending Floridians’ Second Amendment rights.”
During his two terms from 1999 to 2007, Bush’s agenda and the gun lobby’s priorities “became almost identical and would transform Florida into one of the most pro-gun states in the Union,” Matthew Corrigan, chairman of political science at the University of North Florida, wrote in “Conservative Hurricane, How Jeb Bush Remade Florida.”
Bush signed a law allowing non-Floridians with a permit from other states to carry concealed weapons into Florida. While he was governor, the Legislature rejected another bill that would have required gun locks for firearms “on premises where children can be expected.”
The most controversial law enacted during his tenure — the Stand Your Ground law — expanded the so-called Castle Doctrine.
Florida already had a law that allowed homeowners to fire weapons to defend themselves in their homes and cars. They did not have a “duty to retreat” when under duress. The Stand Your Ground law of 2005 extended that right to public areas, such as streets and highways.
The law roused a national debate in 2012 when “watch captain” George Zimmerman, claiming he was attacked, shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin when the unarmed youth was walking through a neighborhood in Sanford.
As governor, Bush signed laws to allow guns in state parks and national forests and to forbid future governors from ordering a roundup of firearms during natural disasters.
Bush also signed a law requiring stores that sell hunting licenses to offer voter registration applications — “a clear attempt to connect political power and support for expanded gun rights,” Corrigan wrote.
Bush’s actions prompted some gun-safety advocates to seek more local control over gun sales.
“We’re at the point where many citizens are saying we’ve had enough of a gun lobby dictating how we should behave when it comes to firearms,” said Patricia Brigham, gun-safety chairwoman of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
While campaigning in Nevada last month, Bush noted that on his watch Florida increased criminal penalties for people who use guns while committing a crime.
“We created a balance that’s focused on lowering gun violence but protecting the Second Amendment,” he told reporters. “And it’s a model for many other countries and many other states because of that.”
Some criminologists agree with Bush that proposed gun-control measures, such as expanded criminal background checks to cover all sales, may not prevent mass shootings like the one in Charleston. The suspect in that case obtained a gun legally and passed a background check.
“Most mass killers are willing to die at the hands of police or go to prison for the rest of their lives,” said Gary Kleck, criminology professor at Florida State University. “How do you deter a guy who wants to die?
“But a lot of ordinary violence involves the private transfer of guns, where the guy who got the gun wouldn’t have passed the background check if one had been required. Ninetynine percent of gun violence in America involves guns not connected to a mass shooting. A lot of that is preventable.”