Anne Geggis
The Democrats’ candidate for Governor, Charlie Crist, received the endorsement of a national gun violence prevention group Wednesday, increasing the contrast between him and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonpartisan group billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg founded in 2013, is throwing its weight behind Crist and his running mate, Karla Hernández. They are the sole Florida politicians that have received the support from the group that claims to be nearly 10 million members strong.
“Ending gun violence requires electing strong gun sense champions and Charlie Crist has a solid track record of supporting gun safety in Florida,” said Monisha Henley, senior director of state Government Affairs for Everytown.
Crist said that he will continue to work to ban assault weapons and require background checks every time someone buys a gun, even for private sales. He invoked Florida’s worse mass shootings.
“From Parkland to Pulse, the epidemic of gun violence has rocked our state and torn Florida’s families and communities apart — we need action,” Crist said, in a prepared statement.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, DeSantis reiterated his support for loosening existing gun regulations. He said he would sign a bill allowing Floridians to carry firearms without training or a permit, if the Legislature passes it. And he said he would have vetoed the bill that strengthened the state’s gun control regulations in the wake of the Parkland massacre that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
In 2018, the Legislature passed a measure that increased the minimum age required to buy an assault-style weapon and approved what is known as a red-flag law. That law allows a judge to temporarily take away weapons from someone deemed a risk.
“That was in response to a very serious tragedy and people wanted to do something,” DeSantis said at a Tuesday news conference. “But that’s when rights are important.”
Those laws, however, bucked the state’s long history that earned it the nickname, “the Gunshine State.” Everytown rates Florida 19th for its control of guns. It still has “missing key laws,” but the state is better off than those states listed as having “weak systems” and those in the worst category, “national failures.”
In addition to more background checks, Everytown says the state could improve public safety by repealing the “stand your ground” law that allows individuals to use deadly force if there’s a reason to believe death or bodily harm is imminent.
Crist calls his plan “Safer Florida for All.” It also calls for more background checks when guns are sold, better reporting of lost and stolen firearms and the regulation of ghost guns that are untraceable.
“As Governor, I will fight every single day for background checks that actually check backgrounds, keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists, and keeping weapons of war off our streets and out of our communities,” Crist said.
Meanwhile, Everytown is gearing up to mobilize its people, its spokeswoman declared.
“Everytown has endorsed Charlie Crist because Florida families and communities deserve a governor who will work day in and day out to keep constituents safe from gun violence,” Henley said. “Our grassroots army of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers are eager to get out the vote for him this November.”
16 comments
U. G. Otaryte
September 1, 2022 at 5:08 am
The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Why? Because the right to defend your life is the basic human right, whether you are in the wilderness defending it against wolves, in the streets of NY defending it against drug-addled hoodies, or at the Florida border, defending it against Joe Biden, it is all self-defense, and you have that right.
Charlie Crist
September 1, 2022 at 7:46 am
Yeah sounds like some vigilante terrorist shit to me there buddy. Need Baker Act, red flag, counter terrorist raid on bomb making facility/anti-government militia group.😆
Concern Citizen
September 1, 2022 at 4:26 pm
UG lives in a state of paranoia.
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September 2, 2022 at 3:55 pm
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marylou
September 1, 2022 at 9:50 am
Right, so why did DeFascist risk your life by banning “ammunition, knives, projectiles, pepper spray, expandable batons, [and] firearms.” at his recent 2024 presidential campaign rallies across the country?
And, the Christian Nationalist SCOTUS should apply their (how convenient) “Originalism” to the 2nd Amendment and protect your right to bear the arms that were available at the time that the Constitution was written.
Richard Bruce
September 1, 2022 at 9:44 am
Does Crist have armed security?
Tjb
September 1, 2022 at 4:33 pm
I would think at times he does have armed security.. Gun control does not mean no guns. I am still amazed that at the NRA Convention, you can not bring a gun into it. Sound like the NRA does support a form of gun control.
marylou
September 2, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Onward Cristian soldiers…
Hope
September 1, 2022 at 9:59 am
Again, the vulgar talking points coming out of the Biden Administration have the lemmings wearing down their little fingers on their keyboards; making fools of themselves (and the Brandon Administration). It is almost entertaining… but, actually disturbing. The Day of Reckoning is coming and the red tsunami will wash all the filth away. Bye-bye Charlie Crist identity theft perpetrator!
Charlie Crist
September 1, 2022 at 10:23 am
Fat Cammack fat tsunami will baptize you in hot grease. Horrible face sit to finish you off🍩🐷😂
Hope
September 1, 2022 at 10:36 am
Unable to put coherent sentences together… thinking he will draw attention away from Hunter’s treason.
Please address your care packages for Hillary and Hunter to Guantanamo.
Charlie Crist
September 1, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Thinking you are drawing attention away from Trump crime spree you mean? What’s wrong with you pro crime sociopaths? You’ve lost you GD minds!
tom palmer
September 1, 2022 at 10:54 am
Ah, yes. Guantanamo. American gulag.
Tom Jackson
September 1, 2022 at 11:10 am
Not sure what Chain Gang Charlie is talking about but every firearm I’ve purchased in the state of Florida was accompanied by a background check. Fun Fact: the almost 2 million Concealed Weapon permit holders in Florida have a lower conviction rate than active duty Law Enforcement. Seems to me if you want to crack down on gun violence stop letting these cretins back out on the street.
PeterH
September 1, 2022 at 11:25 am
If Americans want women to control their own bodies, qualified teachers to replace DeSantis’s culture wars in classrooms, intelligent teacher-student conversations concerning the social issues facing Americans in the 21st century, non-bullying discussion about classroom students who are different, common sense gun regulations, and a new honest approach on how best to address climate change……AMERICANS MUST VOTE ALL REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE. REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA’S PROBLEM.
marylou
September 2, 2022 at 1:30 pm
Voters are tired of seeing children gunned down in their classrooms, while Desantis, SCOTUS, NRA all hide behind guards and fences, as they squeal about your rights. Protect kids from gun violence. Vote for Crist.
Comments are closed.