Florida House prepares school safety bill for vote
TALLAHASSEE — After a blizzard of Democratic amendments, all of which failed, the Florida House pushed forward a major school safety and gun access bill crafted after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
A final vote on the House bill is expected today. Because the House took the Senate bill and did not amend it, if it passes it goes to Gov. Rick Scott for signature.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act raises the age to buy a gun to 21, includes $400 million for mental health and school safety programs, and allows law enforcement to seize firearms from people who make violent threats against themselves or others.
The failed amendments included another attempt at banning assault weapons, a ban Democrats have attempted four times in three committee meetings and on the Senate floor. This time, the amendment was ruled out of order, as it had been brought up previously in a committee, ending Democrats’ latest attempt practically before it began.
Most of the lengthy debate focused on a provision of the bill that would arm some teachers. That part of the bill was watered down when the Senate passed the bill Monday.
The Senate already revised the program so that most classroom teachers would be exempt, leaving coaches, librarians and other school personnel to participate in the optional Aaron Feis Guardian Program. Feis was an assistant football coach at Stoneman Douglas who was killed during the shooting.
But exempting some teachers from participating wasn’t enough to get Democratic support.
“Arming teachers is a nonstarter,” said state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. “It’s a poison pill.”
Removing the program entirely was the first of dozens of failed amendments Democrats attempted when the House started more than eight hours of debate overall.
State Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, who graduated from Stoneman Douglas the same year as Feis, sponsored the amendment to remove the program from the bill.
The amendment failed 42-71, with two Republicans — Rene Plasencia of Orlando and Shawn Harrison of Tampa — joining 40 Democrats in voting to try to kill the program.
“This is an idea that will result in loss of life, however well-intentioned, because it’s almost a fog of war situation, and the people who are there are not soldiers and they are not law enforcement,” said state Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura.
Scott has spoken out against arming teachers, a point used by House Democrats in arguing against the program.
“Our governor thinks it’s wrong, our law enforcement thinks it’s wrong, our students think it’s wrong, our teachers think it’s wrong,” said state Rep. Joe Abruzzo, D-Boynton Beach, “and then we have the audacity to come here on the floor and disregard the will of the people.”
In an emotional closing on his amendment, Moskowitz begged for votes.
“I have begged, I have pleaded, I have clawed, I have sold s--- I never thought I would to get this provision out of the bill,” he said. “The legacy is going to be that we armed teachers. … I want to do something, but I want to do the right thing.”