Posted on 03/03/2018 12:13:20 PM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
TALLAHASSEE — On a day filled with emotion, the Florida Senate Saturday debated measures in response to the Parkland tragedy to spend millions of dollars on school safety and mental health that lawmakers have long neglected and limits on access to guns for the first time in decades.
In an unexpected move by a staunchly pro-gun Legislature, senators briefly approved and then rejected a two-year moratorium on sale of AR-15 assault rifles, the type used in the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The surprise action came on an unrecorded voice vote, in which senators shout yea or nay.
Senate President Joe Negron ruled that the amendment passed. As Senate rules allow, it was reconsidered and overturned by a roll call vote of 21-17.
Every no vote against a moratorium was cast by Republicans. Voting for a moratorium were all 15 Senate Democrats and Republicans Anitere Flores of Miami and Rene Garcia of Hialeah.
Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, called assault rifles “weapons of war designed to kill efficiently and effectively … and then they’re modified for civilian use by a $17 billion industry.”
Some Republicans argued that a ban on any specific type of weapon was unconstitutional, and the first step toward confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens. Democrats countered that a ban on 45 types of assault weapons in Maryland has been upheld by a federal appeals court.
The Republican majority also succeeded in defeating Democratic proposals for a permanent assault weapons ban; mandatory registration of guns; and new child-proof trigger locks on guns.
The senator who called for a second vote was Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Republicans questioned the legality of outlawing sales of a specific type of firearm, and it was unlikely that the more conservative House would have agreed with the moratorium.
On the moratorium question and many others, Democrats insisted on recorded roll call votes. It was part of a strategy to force Republicans to reaffirm their support for the gun lobby’s agenda in an election year in which guns could be the single most important wedge issue.
Senators spent all day Saturday debating the gun measures in advance of a final vote Monday.
“If anything has come out of that tragedy, it is the realization that we have not done enough to this point comprehensively to have mechanisms in place…to prevent this from occurring,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, as he introduced a new draft of the Senate plan.
The Senate had planned to take up its version of the legislation Friday, but with dozens of amendments drafted by Democrats, Senate leaders decided to spend much of Saturday debating the issue.
Galvano also revised the proposal to include some components sought by House leaders in an attempt to send the bill to the other chamber and have it approved in time for it to reach the governor’s desk before session ends on March 9.
Galvano called the legislation a compilation of “many, many ideas,” informed in part by the parents of victims and students at the school and many in the Parkland community who traveled to Tallahassee.
“I think this journey is just beginning,” Galvano added. “This is not the end all and be all. I think we have much to do in this area, and I plan to do much in this area” so that all people are “safe to lead their daily lives and be productive in this state.”
The four-part package focuses on mental health, firearms safety, school safety and communication and includes what Galvano said was “the most frequent request” — to raise the age from 18 to 21. He failed to note that many of the parents and thousands of activists who rallied at the Capitol also wanted lawmakers to ban assault weapons.
Responding to questions, Galvano said he included what he thought was necessary for school safety, and he “did not want to include at this point a complete ban on firearms.” He said he does not believe an assault weapons ban would be constitutional under the privacy and right to bear arms provisions of Florida’s Constitution.
Known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, the legislation will be accompanied by an unprecedented infusion of cash into the school system to address mental health issues.
The package includes $18.3 million for mobile crisis teams working with the Department of Children and Families and the schools; $500,000 for mental health first aid training: and $69 million for mental health assistance to school districts.
In response to reports that law enforcement and school officials had numerous warnings signs to flag troubling behavior by gunman Nikolas Cruz, Galvano said the legislation “empowers law enforcement” to seize and hold firearms for up to 24 hours for anyone who is being held under the Baker Act and longer if they obtain a risk protection order from the court. If someone is deemed a “significant risk or threat” a court can also issue a search warrant for firearms.
The Senate expects to debate the bill much of Saturday, addressing as many as 41 amendments filed mostly by Democrats, and vote on the bill on Monday.
In a caucus meeting before the session, the 15 Senate Democrats agreed on a series of a half-dozen amendments that they will demand be decided by recorded roll call votes. The amendments include a proposed assault weapons ban and restoring the ability of cities and counties to enact stricter gun laws than the Legislature has approved.
One reason Democrats want to record votes on those amendments is to build a record for use in upcoming campaigns in which support or opposition for stricter gun controls could be a major issue.
“The message that we send begins here today,” said Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.
Key features of the bill include:
* Expanding the existing three-day waiting period on handguns to apply to all firearms and requiring that the waiting period be extended if the gun background check is not completed. The exceptions to the waiting period are for those who already hold concealed weapons permits and for people who have completed a 16-hour hunter safety course, are law enforcement or correctional officers or are members of the military.
* Raising the minimum age to purchase a rifle or a shotgun from 18 to 21.
* Banning the use, sale and possession of bump stocks, which modify semi-automatic firearms to become automatic.
* Establishing the Marjory Stoneman Douglass Public Safety Commission beginning in June and lasting for three years. The panel will make recommendations on school safety and understand what went wrong at Douglas High. Members will be appointed by the Legislature, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the governor. “This commission will have teeth,” Galvano said, noting it will have the ability to review records and issue subpoenas through FDLE.
* Creating the Office of Safe Schools, which includes a safety officer in each district and an individual in each school. The goal is to apply the best practices and “make sure that along with everything else that we focus on from the state down to the local that we prioritize safety and security,” Galvano said.
* Providing mental health money to serve at-risk children and families in the school system.
* Establishing Safe School officers in each school, including school resource officers as well as the ability for some districts to train and arm teachers or other school personnel to carry concealed weapons. “We want to have at least one or more officers at each school,” Galvano said.
* Establishing the “marshal program” that allows school districts and sheriffs departments the option of developing a program for school personnel to undergo 132 hours of training, “for the limited purpose of responding to an active shooter situation,” Galvano said. “There will be no other authority invested in that purpose.”
* Developing a mobile app called “Fortify Florida,” for students, parents, teachers and others to forward tips on suspicious activity and behavior anonymously. Galvano said it was a recommendation that came to the legislature through the attorney general’s office but “the legislation is not geared to any particular vendor.”
“We have to start somewhere,” Galvano said, noting the speed with which the measure has moved in less than a week.
During the debate Saturday morning, senators from both parties peppered Galvano with questions for nearly two hours.
Many questions centered on the “school marshal program,” which would deputize trained school personnel to carry concealed weapons during school hours. Galvano repeatedly emphasized it would be voluntary and could take place only with the approval of a county sheriff and school superintendent.
“The intent is that it is voluntary on the part of the sheriff,” Galvano said.
Parkland parents and students who have appeared before legislative committee were overwhelmingly opposed to arming school teachers, as is the governor. The black caucus took a position in opposition of the measure, saying they fear that black students could be disproportionately targeted by teachers carrying weapons.
Because the bill limits access to guns to some people, the National Rifle Association opposes the bill. In a blast message to members, the Florida chapter of the National Rifle Association on Thursday urged their members to call for a defeat of the bill.
“Senators are being bullied into voting for gratuitous gun control measures in order to be able to vote on school safety,” the message said. “Senate leadership is trying to force Senators to vote for gun control if they want to vote to harden schools, to put armed security in schools and to keep guns out of the hands of dangerously mentally ill people.
Neither is the Ruger Ranch Rifle, but it is chambered to accept 5.56 military rounds, and has a removable magazine. It is differentiated from the AR-15 mainly by the fact that it is not scary looking. It has a nice fixed walnut-colored wood stock and does not have a pistol grip that protrudes prominently. The fact that most progressives want to ban the AR-15 while not expressing any concerns for rifles like the Ranch Rifle tells me te level of emotion that is overwhelming any rationality.
So, here we go again, trying to ban scary guns. The last time that was done, it did not have a statistically material effect on the murder rate, nor the number of mass murders.
To refresh our memories about Columbine....
During the Columbine massacre, in which 15 people were murdered and 21 injured, a total of four firearms were involved. The murderers also employed four knives and 99 explosive devices.
Of the firearms, only one qualified under the 1984 federal law as a banned “assault rifle”. One firearm was a doubled barreled shotgun with a shortened barrel. It has long been a federal felony to saw down the barrel of a shotgun and it was also a felony to possess such an altered weapon.
Every single explosive device was a federal and state felony to assemble, possess and use, and to use in the commission of a crime.
If the memory of Columbine is ever brought up today, the failure of the law to stop the use of explosives in a school massacre is never mentioned. It is never mentioned because that gets in the way of a Gollum-like fixation on the ugly and scary guns.
Harris's site attracted few visitors, and caused no concern until March 1998. Klebold was aware of the site and gave the web address to Brooks Brown, in an effort to warn him of Harris's threats of violence against Brown and his family. Brown's mother had filed numerous complaints with the Jefferson County Sheriff's office concerning Harris, as she thought he was dangerous. The website contained numerous death threats directed against Brown: Klebold knew that if Brooks accessed the address, he would discover the content and inform his parents, and likely the authorities would be notified. After Brown's parents viewed the site, they contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The investigator Michael Guerra was told about the website.[15] When he accessed it, Guerra discovered numerous violent threats directed against the students and teachers of Columbine High School. Other material included blurbs that Harris had written about his general hatred of society, and his desire to kill those who annoyed him.
Harris had noted on his site that he had made pipe bombs, in addition to a hit list of individuals (he did not post any plan on how he intended to attack targets).[16] As Harris had posted on his website that he possessed explosives, Guerra wrote a draft affidavit, requesting a search warrant of the Harris household. The affidavit also mentioned a suspicion of Harris being involved in an unsolved pipe bomb case in February 1998. The affidavit was never filed.[15] It was concealed by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and not revealed until September 2001, resulting from an investigation by the TV show 60 Minutes.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre
The roll call vote made the RINOs have to lie about how they voted in the voice vote.
The cattle and citrus industries are probably the oldest, followed by tourism.
Connecticut has been a very liberal state for a very long time. - top 5.
Florida has been traditionally Conservative or Dixiecrat with densely populated pockets of Yankee liberalism. Broward is THE spoiler county for the state. NY, NJ, Mass, & CT elderly and transplants rule and displace natives.
Cali has had minimal influence upon Florida. However, FL has copied some of their bad educational policies.
Turpentine
what court, and is this going to SCOTUS?
If this BS was passed how would this have worked? They ban future sales of AR-15s in FL, or they start coming to confiscate the AR-15s that were registered and bought in the past?
Sounds as shady as the Las Vegas shooting with LVMPD and FBI doing kabuki theatre.
What if he changes his plea? Forget insanity. He can change his plea .. What then?
>>Pistols, shotguns and knives are also weapons of war. Do the dims want those banned as well?
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Of course they do. Look to the U.K. for their model.
It’s whatever they want to ban next. Doesn’t matter how it’s defined.
These are the same idiots who think that “AR” in AR-15 stands for “Assault Rifle” and that a pistol can not be sucessfully used against someone with an AR-15 because the pistol is “too slow”. They, unfortunatly our President included, believe that bump stocks are a menace. While they may be fun to shoot they are very difficult to use effectively and mainly just waste ammo. The also think that supressors practically eliminate the sound of gunfire. They do not and you also need to use slower, below speed of sound, ammo to stop the crack from the bullet breaking the barrier. They also overheat quickly and using them at a high rate of fire turns them redhot to the point where a catastrophic failure may result. But these are all facts and we know that facts are never important if it contradicts the liberal agenda.
I got your point but refuse to entertain the idea, given the mounds of evidence.
He made the threats, broadcast them and executed children and teachers -methodically. There’s no shortage of surveillance, credible witnesses and his confession.
The only chance he has of avoiding execution is to plead guilty and cop the insanity defense.
If he changes his plea it will cost the state a lot more to prosecute him and he will fry.
“The AR 15 is a semi automatic rifle. It is not full auto select or three round burst select.”
CNN said the AR 15 is a “full semi-automatic” weapon.
If the prosecutor, Mike Satz, refuses to take the DP off the table then Cruz could enter a not-guilty plea and force the state to lay out their case. If he is enjoying all the attention, he may do that. Anything is possible.
“Cruz would plead guilty IF prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty, his lawyers say.”
Satz’s office is waiting for a decent time of mourning to pass before asking for input from the victims and their families. He also has to see how much blame comes down on the school district and sheriff.
Note that State Atty. Michael Satz is one of the signers to the sanctuary discipline agreement. IOW, he agreed to not seek prosecution for the list of criminal infractions exempted within the school district.
Due to his cooperation, Satz is part of the problem.
Now THAT was a response that truly helped me to understand. Thanks !
Yes.
But it can put a dent in a head if swung like a baseball bat....would never do that with mine though...
The machete in the back of my truck can easily be an ‘assault weapon’, but that requires a reasonable interpretation of ‘assault weapon’, and reason is not in play here.
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