In Florida, Republican lawmakers face mounting pressure as protesters swarm Capitol following rampage
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Seven days after the killing of 17 students and school staff members in Florida, Republican state leaders are facing pressure unlike any they have experienced before to pass legislation addressing gun violence.
On Wednesday, swarms of student protesters carrying signs and boxes of petitions stormed the Florida Capitol, pleading with lawmakers to pass tougher gun control in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Broward County school last week.
On one floor, they crowded the doorway of the office of Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican and an ardent supporter of gun rights, shouting, “Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” On an upper floor, they gathered outside the office of the powerful speaker of the Florida House, Richard Corcoran. “Face us down! Face us down! Face us down!”
And on the House floor, Alondra Gittelson, who survived the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, confronted Corcoran, a Republican, demanding to know why “such a destructive gun” — the AR-15 rifle — is widely accessible.
“How is an individual in society able to acquire such a
gun?” Gittelson, 16, asked Corcoran.
Corcoran replied that he saw the rifle as a legitimate hunting weapon and did not believe a ban would help matters. “I’ll just be honest with you,” he said. “Me, personally — I don’t believe that’s the solution.”
With about two weeks left in the legislative session, Republicans led by Scott have concluded that it would be politically catastrophic if they failed to do something to address the growing outcry. But they appear likely to pursue legislation narrower than what students are demanding, avoiding a ban on assault weapons.
In the Florida House and Senate, lawmakers said they were involved in bipartisan efforts to craft gun-related legislative proposals that could be introduced Friday or earlier.
State Sen. Bill Galvano, a Republican, said in an interview that the Senate proposal would likely involve raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles to 21 from 18; introducing a three-day waiting period to purchase such guns; banning “bump stocks,” an attachment that enables a semi-automatic rifle to fire faster; and expanding the power of law enforcement to restrict the actions of mentally ill people under Florida’s Baker Act.
“Nothing about this is par for the course,” Galvano said. “We’ve had one too many horrific incidents in this country and really around the world. And to have this tragedy occur here in the state of Florida has in some ways been very sobering.”
He added that there was a “true commitment in the Senate and the House to try to address issues that would prevent something this devastating from ever happening again.”
In addition to the students amassing in Tallahassee, Democrats in Florida have vowed to make gun control a central campaign issue in 2018, and a national guncontrol group is already targeting Scott with television ads that say he neglected public safety.
The developing clash over firearms has the potential to define Florida politics in a critical election year, thrusting the state into the center of a stalemated national debate around gun violence and the Second Amendment. In a politically divided state where the National Rifle Association has held broad influence for decades — every governor for 20 years has been an ally of the group — even fierce supporters of gun rights now believe Republicans cannot afford to seem passive in response to gruesome scenes of violence.
The arrival of the student protesters from Stoneman Douglas, who traveled hundreds of miles by bus to the state capital, drastically raised the political stakes for Florida’s longruling Republicans. Having reached Tallahassee overnight, the young activists quickly set about advocating for sweeping new gun restrictions, included expanded background checks for gun purchases and an outright ban on the sale of military-style firearms.
Inside the Capitol, the students divided into groups of 10. Sen. Lauren Book, a Democrat, had helped the students arrange meetings with lawmakers in both parties, and the groups planned to meet with some 70 elected officials.
Throughout the day, the Stoneman Douglas students moved through the labyrinthine building, and met for 20 or 30 minutes at a time with lawmakers in their offices. They crowded around small conference tables and packed onto leather couches or sat cross-legged on nubby carpets.
Some lawmakers asked for photographs they could use for promotional materials. At least one, a Democrat, pulled students into a picture before even introducing himself.
Group No. 6 crammed into the elevator with two parent chaperones. They met with Rep. Patricia H. Williams, a Democrat, and Sen. Debbie Mayfield, a Republican. Mayfield said that changes were needed, perhaps including raising the minimum age to buy powerful weapons, but she rebuffed criticism from a student, Daniel Bishop, 16, that such a change would not actually prevent deaths. “We can’t stop crazies,” she told the group. Afterward, Amanda De La Cruz, 16, looked distraught. “I want the ban on semiautomatic weapons,” she said. “I don’t care about the crazies.”