Guns and Legislature: Glimmer of hope or more posturing?

TALLAHASSEE – After mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, is demanding a new focus on gun violence and its causes, starting in September when lawmakers go back to work.

That’s an exceedingly tall order for a traditionally pro-gun Legislature at the start of an election year.

“Our focus should be on steps the Senate can take to review and better understand the various factors involved in mass shootings, in addition to, and also including, school shootings,” Galvano wrote in a memo to senators. “This includes white nationalism, which appears to be a factor not only with regard to these recent mass shootings, but also with other acts of violence we have seen across the country in recent years.”

It’s obvious Galvano has a lot of convincing to do.

State Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, said nowhere in Galvano’s memo does he use the words “guns” or “assault weapons.” Thurston worries that Republicans will cower behind white nationalism as a cause of gun violence to avoid confronting the real problem: guns.

“There’s still no direct reference to guns,” Thurston told the Sun Sentinel. “They’re intimidated by the NRA.”

“I call BS,” tweeted Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, a leader of progressives in the House. “GOP lawmakers are posturing to get reporters to stop asking questions. Just like after Pulse, they’ll wait until El Paso & Dayton news fizzles out and then they’ll do NOTHING or worse — they’ll arm teachers like @BillGalvano did THIS session.”

Galvano said the Senate will look comprehensively at all aspects of gun violence. “I’m not going to micro-manage,” he told the Sun Sentinel, even though “everybody is into easy sound-bite answers.”

In February, a year after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Galvano wrote a column for the Sun Sentinel in which he said: “While much has been done, much more needs to be accomplished to protect our children and safeguard our schools.”

What happened this year was predictable. Lawmakers followed the recommendations of a commission created in response to the shooting, including a highly controversial decision to allow teachers to carry guns on school grounds — an item on the NRA’s wish list.

No restrictions passed. Republicans ignored Democratic proposals to ban assault weapons and refused to give the idea a hearing, because that would force the GOP to go on record as supporting the murderous machines — making for powerful attack ads in swing districts. The first Republicanbacked gun bill filed for next session is that perennial “campus carry” proposal to allow guns at colleges, an idea that Senate leaders, with the backing of school presidents, have wisely rejected.

Galvano has faced down the gun lobby before. He supported the post-Parkland changes that raised the age of purchase of an assault weapon from 18 to 21, enacted three-day waiting periods for all gun purchases and a “red flag” law. After Galvano’s political committee got $200,000 from Everytown for Gun Safety, a Michael Bloomberg-backed group pushing background checks, the NRA vilified him.

Galvano deserves credit for making gun violence a priority. But what Tallahassee needs is another show of force by citizens demanding action, like what happened after Parkland.

The Senate’s point man on gun safety issues is state Sen. Tom Lee, a Tampaarea Republican. A former Senate president and one of its most battle-tested members, Lee got an A+ rating from the NRA on its report card last year.

In Tallahassee, no legislation has any hope without overwhelming Republican support. Lee’s Infrastructure and Security Committee includes five Republicans with pro-gun records and three Democrats who want stronger gun safety laws: state Sens. Janet Cruz, of Tampa, Linda Stewart, of Orlando and Annette Taddeo, of Miami. Any changes to gun safety laws require support from two other Republicans: House Speaker Jose Oliva, of Miami Lakes, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s counted on by President Donald Trump to deliver Florida in 2020.

Oliva issued a statement that condemned racism and white nationalism and said nothing about guns. DeSantis, criticized by Taddeo this week for failing to call out Trump for repeated ugly attacks on immigrants, said: “I have no interest in being part of people’s political narratives … I’m trying to focus on solutions.”

That’s not good enough. But it also does not bode well for a bipartisan solution to this crisis. The next round of legislative meetings is the week of Sept. 16-20. Pending the next mass shooting — and who among us doesn’t expect it to happen — nothing would grab politicians’ attention like the sight of thousands of Floridians at the Capitol demanding action and vowing to remember how they responded to the greatest issue of our time. Steve Bousquet is a Sun Sentinel columnist. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel. com or (850) 567-2240.

In Tallahassee, no legislation has any hope without overwhelming Republican support.