No guns at the daycare: Lori Berman, Cindy Polo file bills to keep firearms out of child care facilities
Image by Brett Hondow of Pixabay.

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Democrats have said changing gun laws will be a top priority this upcoming Session.

“There is no valid reason for a parent or visiting adult to be armed when entering a child care facility.”

That’s the rationale from Sen. Lori Berman as she joins Rep. Cindy Polo in introducing legislation to outlaw the carrying of a gun inside a child care facility.

The Democratic lawmakers filed their bills Monday, ahead of the 2020 Legislative Session.

The measures from Berman (SB 398) and Polo (HB 245) are identical, in that they add child care facilities to the list of places where the carrying of weapons is already barred, regardless of whether the owner has a concealed carry permit.

Other places where those weapons are banned include courthouses, polling places and and prisons.

“In our schools, we protect our children by only allowing guns on campus in the hands of trained personnel,” Berman added. “This same standard should apply here.

“Individuals should not be permitted to enter these facilities with weapons. Common sense dictates that guns should be prohibited in these centers except for trained individuals.”

Under Florida law, a “child care facility” is defined as “any child care center or child care arrangement which provides child care for more than five children unrelated to the operator and which receives a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit.”

That definition does not include schools, summer camps or bible schools.

Democrats have said reforming the state’s gun laws will be a top priority during the 2020 Legislative Session. That’s following a trio of high-profile shootings this summer that left dozens dead.

“As a mother of a toddler, keeping children safe is top priority,” Polo said. “This piece of legislation won’t curb the gun violence epidemic in our state, but it will create a safe space for our little ones.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that children do not fear attending school due to a fear of guns. An intentional or accidental shooting at a preschool is an unthinkable tragedy, and this legislation will help prevent it from becoming a reality.”

Democrats are hoping to court support from Republicans for measures to increase gun regulation in the state.

Democratic lawmakers were unsuccessful in pushing for a Special Session to address gun violence. But they have pushed for multiple measures to be heard during the upcoming Session.

Sen. Gary Farmer put forward a bill to expand the scope of a state law regulating the safe storage of guns. Rep. Tina Polsky is also pushing legislation to increase the regulation of weapon storage.

And Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso has said he’ll back legislation adding gun ownership to a list of removable rights under the state guardianship program. That program allows people deemed incapacitated by a court to have certain rights removed, including applying for a driver’s license, conducting lawsuits, handling money and other issues.

“We will soon be approaching the second anniversary of the horrific shootings in Parkland,” Berman said. “This legislation stops the violence before it can begin.”

Ryan Nicol

Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you'd like to contact him, send an email to [email protected].


5 comments

  • Blade

    October 1, 2019 at 7:02 am

    You would think that after Parkland the people of Florida would have reconsidered “gun free zones” where people are disarmed by law and easy prey for lunatics who never seem to target Police Stations and other areas frequented by armed people. It would appear that Lori and Cindy want high body counts for whatever their political agenda may be.

  • Barry Hirsh

    October 1, 2019 at 10:52 am

    No. Not only no more gun control laws, but repeal much of what exists now.

  • Richard Nascak

    October 1, 2019 at 11:30 am

    “There is no valid reason for a parent or visiting adult to be armed when entering a child care facility.”

    Likewise there is no valid reason to prohibit carry by licensees, who as a group, are one of the most law-abiding demographic groups, six times more so than law enforcement officers. Between 1987 and 2012, when the issuing authority stopped tabulating the statistic as “insignificant”, the data show that out of over 2 million licensees, the number of those who lost their license due to any crime involving a firearm was 7/1000ths of 1 percent.

    But instead of focusing your legislation on those who actually perpetrate the gun violence you allegedly abhor, instead you focus on the innocent and law-abiding.

    I suggest you read about what a fundamental enumerated right, incorporated against the states under the 14th Amendment due process clause means. Your intellectual dishonesty is showing.

  • Rich

    October 1, 2019 at 5:40 pm

    “Saving Your Neighborhood Children Takes Five Minutes”
    Dear school board member, (Dear state legislator,)
    I was lied to. We were promised that students would be safer once we made it illegal for honest adults to carry guns on, or near, a school campus. Well that promise sure didn’t work. The US Department of Justice reports that almost all the active shooter incidents took place in “gun-free” zones. A quarter of those incidents took place in our schools.
    That is unacceptable.
    It is a nice letter, but it is meaningless without you. You can make it powerful. It takes one letter and a week, but you can change lives. Here is what you do with five minutes a day.
    I offer you the words, but your actions make it politically powerful.
    Go save lives.
    https://slowfacts.wordpress.com/2016/08/14/save-the-children-in-your-neighborhood-with-five-minutes-a-day/

  • Eric Nix

    October 1, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    These anti gun people are total freaking morons one and all.

Comments are closed.


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