Gray Rohrer
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott isn’t backing legislation to repeal part of a landmark bill passed in the aftermath of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland in 2018 that banned 18- to 20-year-olds from buying rifles.
“I still talk to a lot of the Parkland families,” Scott told reporters in Tallahassee. “We had that shooting, we had Pulse and we had the (Fort Lauderdale) airport shooting. Your heart goes out to these families. We passed historic legislation that I’m proud that we passed. … I support what we passed.”
A bill (HB 1223) up for a vote Tuesday in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee would roll back the minimum age to buy a rifle from 21 to 18. The increase of the minimum age to 21 was a key part of the law passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Scott when he was Governor, which included other firearm restrictions and programs to boost security at schools.
Scott was in Tallahassee to accept the endorsements of 80 GOP lawmakers for his re-election campaign. He slammed his main Democratic opponent, former U.S. House member Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, and criticized her stance on abortion.
“My opponent is a complete liar. She’s a socialist, she’s a liar and she’s a radical,” Scott said. “I’ve been clear — I’m pro-baby, I’m pro-life. I think we have to have reasonable limitations for rape, incest and the life of the mother.”
“In the Senate every Democrat has voted for abortion up until the moment of birth. … She ought to say exactly where she is,” Scott added.
Scott also indicated he disagrees with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s approach to working with Democrats. Scott lost a bid to replace McConnell as Senate Republican leader after the 2022 elections.
“I went up there to represent Florida and I ran against Mitch McConnell because I don’t think the way the Senate was working — we work too much to pass Democratic priorities rather than Republican priorities,” Scott said.
