After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in 2018, Florida’s very conservative lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott passed gun safety laws that raised the age to buy firearms, instituted red flag laws and background checks. Those laws were reportedly used 15,000 times to temporarily keep weapons out of the hands of people deemed an immediate danger.
That’s too much safety for Florida’s current governor, Ron DeSantis.
National Public Radio’s WLRN in South Florida reported on DeSantis’ desire to roll back some of those safety laws during his State of the State address this week:
“The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights,” he said. “We need to be a strong Second Amendment state.”
DeSantis said the state’s laws pale in comparison to those of other conservative states. He pointed to problems with “red flag laws” and legislation increasing the minimum age for firearm purchases from 18 to 21.
DeSantis signed permitless concealed carry into law in 2023, saying it was “an anomaly” that the state hadn’t approved permitless open carry yet. He called red flag laws, which allow a judge to deem someone a danger and remove their firearms, a “huge due process violation” and advocated to shift the burden of proof to the state.
DeSantis is the same guy who appointed a quack as Florida’s surgeon general, who oversees an infant mortality crisis in his state, and who refused calls from then-Vice President Kamala Harris as a category five hurricane headed toward his state.
But hey, Floridians, at least your kids won’t be reading anything that might be considered woke or learning anything that might offend white people.
