Jesse Scheckner
Former Rep. Joe Saunders, who is running to represent northeast Miami-Dade in House District 106, has the most sensible platform when it comes to gun control, a major advocacy group says.
Moms Demand Action, a subsidiary of Everytown for Gun Safety, has named Saunders one of its 2024 “Gun Sense Candidates.”
He joins more than 15,000 candidates to receive the designation since 2018.
Saunders, a longtime partner of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement that he is proud to have earned the “Gun Sense” distinction.
“Our community deserves leadership that champions common sense gun safety laws. I’m ready to make OUR voices heard in Tallahassee and prioritize the safety of all our residents,” he said.
“Please join me in this fight to make our community a safer place, free from preventable gun violence.”
Saunders carries support from current and former federal and state lawmakers. Several advocacy groups, including LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, SAVE Action PAC and the Florida Leadership Council have also endorsed Saunders since he filed to run May 1, 2023.
He made history in 2012 as one of the first openly gay people to win a seat in the Legislature. He served a single, two-year term representing Orlando in the House before losing his re-election bid. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records show he has owned a one-bedroom apartment in Miami Beach since April 2021.
For the past decade, he has worked as political director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida.
He’s the sole Democrat running in HD 106. On Nov. 5, he’ll face the winner of a GOP Primary between Melinda Almonte and incumbent Rep. Fabián Basabe.
Last year Basabe voted for a now-effective law allowing legal gun owners to carry concealed firearms without first obtaining a permit. The measure also provides millions of dollars for school-hardening initiatives and threat management that Basabe said he worked to add to its final language.
He also supported measures that would have lowered the legal age to buy a rifle or long gun from 21 to 18 for the past two Sessions. Both bills died in the Senate. State lawmakers raised the age limit in response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead, including 14 teen students.
Another bipartisan bill Basabe sponsored in 2023 to provide grants for violence-reduction efforts in high-risk communities died in committee but was later absorbed into the state budget with a $5 million earmark.
No-party candidate Maureen Saunders Scott, a St. Johns County resident who last month changed her name on the ballot to “Moe Saunders,” is also running. She is Joe Saunders’ aunt, and he’s since sued her to stop her from running under a name one letter different from his.
A hearing for the case is set for Aug. 1.
HD 106 covers a coastal strip of Miami-Dade between Miami Beach and Aventura.
The General Election is on Nov. 5.
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Editor’s note: This report has been updated to include additional information about Basabe’s legislative work.
One comment
Michael K
July 17, 2024 at 6:57 pm
Go, Joe! He’s one of the most thoughtful and decent people in Florida politics.
Tell me again how anyone can have a made-up name appear on the ballot – one that does not match their voter ID. Her name is Maureen Scott.
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