Scott Powers
Florida House Democratic candidate Anna Eskamani is drawing another national glance with a news feature launching today on MTV News that compares and contrasts her views on guns with those of a young, conservative North Carolina lawmaker.
In House District 47, covering north and central Orange County, Eskamani is facing Republican businessman Stockton Reeves of Winter Park. While she has yet to win a public office, she has been featured several times by national media as a face and voice for young, progressive Democrats, or for young women entering politics, as she will be in another feature being produced by a national outlet, VICE News.
This time it’s MTV News, which could draw her attention among young voters in HD 47. In the four-minute, 30-second segment “Can these young candidates change gun policy in America?” now posted on MTV News’ Facebook page, Eskamani, 28, who’s running for the open seat in Florida House District 47, shares screen time with North Carolina state Rep. Cody Henson, a 26-year-old Republican.
“Pulse nightclub is in District 47, so you can’t not talk about gun issues,” Eskamani says, introducing herself.
The rest of the report is an unnarrated back-and-forth between her and Henson, who says “I personally do not believe banning any kind of firearm will make any kind of difference because people with mental health issues will find a way to hurt people.”
They both talk about encouraging both sides to talk and find common ground, but they both state positions that make it sound as if such common ground could be elusive, at least between the two of them.
