Ryan Nicol
Sen. José Javier Rodríguez is joining his fellow Democrats’ push to reform Florida’s gun laws by introducing a pair of bills of his own.
Democrats have promised to focus on the issue during the 2020 Session after a trio of separate mass shootings in August in Texas and Ohio that left dozens dead.
Florida, of course, has dealt with its own mass shootings in recent years as well.
Both bills from Rodríguez aim to help ensure that those who purchase a gun go through a background check. Those checks are required when a gun is bought from a federally licensed dealer. But many private sales are not subject to background checks.
One measure from Rodríguez (SB 548) would force private gun sales to go through those dealers, ensuring a background check is conducted.
“If neither party to a prospective firearms sale, lease, or transfer is a licensed dealer, the parties to the transaction must complete the sale, lease, or transfer through a licensed dealer,” the bill reads.
The seller of the weapon would have to deliver it to a licensed dealer, which would then process the sale as usual. That process would include a background check.
The second bill being backed by Rodríguez (SB 586) would limit private sales to concealed carry permit holders. Those permit holders are required to undergo a federal background check also part of the application process.
“We need universal background checks on the sale of firearms,” Rodríguez. said in a statement on the measures.
“In addition to cosponsoring gun safety reforms proposed by my colleagues, two commonsense bills I have filed would close loopholes in our background checks system and give law enforcement the tools they need to identify someone who fails a background check.”
In addition to putting forward his own legislation, Rodríguez is co-sponsoring several other bills introduced by Democrats ahead of the 2020 Session.
Those include a measure by Sen. Gary Farmer that would strengthen the state’s safe storage laws (SB 266) and a bill from Sen. Lori Berman that would bar the carrying of a gun inside a child care facility (SB 398).
2 comments
NoMoreRepublicans!
October 28, 2019 at 1:54 pm
What kind of nincompoop wouldn’t want to regulate the type of people who were allowed to buy, carry, and use guns?
Gene Ralno
October 28, 2019 at 5:10 pm
Jose can say whatever he wants but firearms owners have heard all the arguments repeatedly. Their minds are settled on the issue. Regardless of what government laws are enacted, most of the 120 million owners will ignore them because they brazenly violate the 2nd Amendment. Recall the spirit of the 2nd Amendment forbids infringement by the federal government and the Supreme Court has extended it to the states.
The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) already stand as testament to our federal government’s willingness to trample on human rights affirmed by the Constitution. Additional trampling will alienate this colossal population and make them more willing to ignore other laws they don’t believe in. It’s a recipe for revolution.
None of this hysteria is justified because in 2018 gun homicides declined seven percent, firearm injuries declined 10 percent, fatal child shootings (under 18) declined 12 percent and unintentional shootings plummeted 21 percent. Since 1991, the murder rate has fallen by 45 percent and the overall violent crime rate has fallen by 48 percent. Since 1999, the statistical probability of a student being killed in school, on any given day by a gun has been one in 614 million.
It’s important to remember that half the nation’s murders occur in only 63 counties while the other half are spread across the other 3,081 counties. Said another way, 15 percent had one murder and 54 percent of the nation’s counties had no murders at all. The correct path for our federal and state governments is to do nothing and simply watch the crime rates decline.
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