Not much change since shooting, Legislators say

Teenagers hopeful for change filled the streets demanding action after the Parkland massacre.

What did Congress do in response? Not much, three South Florida Democratic members told a crowd of about 350 at Temple Beth Emet in Cooper City on Wednesday night.

have not done anything significant,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DWeston. “Frankly, that is not going to change until we change who is in the majority in the United States Congress.”

The students’ demands — a ban on assault-style weapons, a prohibition of high-capacity magazines and universal background checks for gun sales — have failed to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Congress, she said.

U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch, whose district includes Parkland, and Alcee Hastings, D-West Delray, joined Wasserman Schultz at the town hall meeting on gun violence.

Deutch said he’s optimistic some progress can be made on a bipartisan basis. He’s supporting a bill with a Republican colleague that would create a fed“We eral gun violence restraining order, similar to one recently created by the Florida Legislature. That measure made it easier for police in Florida to take guns from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

He read the names of the 17 people killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.