Tina Polsky files suite of gun control bills

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 11/8/23-Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, asks a question during session, Wednesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Sen. Tina Polsky on Wednesday filed a set of bills aimed at reducing gun violence.

Polsky, a Democrat representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, filed four bills, including “Jamie’s Law” (SB 256) and “The Responsible Gun Ownership Act” (SB 252).

Jaime’s Law, also known as the Sale or Transfer of Ammunition, named after 14-year-old Jamie Guttenberg, one of 17 people killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland. If enacted, the measure would apply to ammunition purchases the same strictures placed on those buying a gun. Democratic Rep. Dan Daley, who represents Parkland, is sponsoring the companion bill (HB 53).

SB 252 would require universal background checks for all gun purchases — including private sales — and increase safe storage standards. The measure would also make it illegal to make or possess firearms without serial numbers, a provision intended to crack down on so-called “ghost guns,” a term for homemade, 3D-printed firearms.

“I am committed to doing the work to protect, expand, and promote gun safety within our state, even as efforts continue to move the needle backwards. As the Senator representing Parkland, I will always fight to honor the lives lost on February 14, 2018, and protect the work done by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Act. I will continue to propose legislation to make Floridians safer, and uphold the responsibility entrusted to me by the people of Florida,” Polsky said in a news release.

Polsky also filed a bill, SB 254, that would expand the definition of machine gun to include 
“any gun modified to fire at a faster rate,” which is intended to address the use of bump stocks. The fourth bill in the set, SB 238, would remove the preemption preventing local governments from enacting gun restrictions.