Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Joe HendersonOctober 2, 2017

There was no reason to know the name Stephen Paddock before we awoke to the news Monday morning that he had gone on a murderous rampage. The man we’ll now remember as the Las Vegas killer had apparently committed nothing worse than a minor traffic violation. He owned guns but didn’t appear to be overly fascinated […]

Associated PressAugust 27, 2017

The election of President Donald Trump and Republican control of Congress meant the National Rifle Association could probably rest easy that gun laws wouldn’t change for at least four years. But the NRA has begun a campaign not against pending legislation but what it sees as liberal forces bent on undoing the progress it’s made […]

Joe HendersonJune 12, 2017

This was a pretty famous case. You might remember it. On Nov. 23, 2012, Michael David Dunn was at a gas station in Jacksonville when he got into an argument with 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was there with some friends. It seems the music coming from Davis’ car was too way loud for Dunn’s taste. […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 9, 2017

One doesn’t have to go back much farther than a few days to find the latest historical example of mass shootings in Florida: an Orlando workplace shooting that took multiple casualties. It wasn’t the first mass shooting in Florida. It likely won’t be the last. As Orlando and the state of Florida deal with that […]

Associated PressFebruary 15, 2017

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The Republican-led Senate is moving to block an Obama-era regulation that would prevent an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from being able to purchase a firearm. The Obama administration had sought to strengthen the federal background check system with a rule requiring the Social Security Administration to send in the names of beneficiaries with […]

Scott PowersFebruary 3, 2017

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Citing email obtained through open-records requests, NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer declared the League of Women Voters of Florida as “Florida’s newest gun ban organization,” working in secret. “The League of Women Voters is not who you think they are. The Florida League of Women Voters is Florida’s newest gun ban organization,” Hammer wrote in a letter […]

Larry GriffinJanuary 5, 2017

Senator Linda Stewart and Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith announced Thursday that they had filed a bill in both the Senate and the House that would ban the sale of military-grade assault weapons in Florida. The bill, SB 254, would prevent the sale or transfer of assault weapons as well as owning them in general. Speaking at […]

Joe HendersonNovember 22, 2016

Remember that measure some Republicans in the Legislature have tried to pass the last couple of years to allow guns on college campuses? You know, the bill the House passed last year before it died in the Senate (thank goodness). Well, it’s back. Of course, it’s back. It never really left, and it won’t leave […]

Scott PowersNovember 10, 2016

Outside groups spent $8 million in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, mostly to help Democrat Stephanie Murphy oust Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica. Updated campaign finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission this week show outside groups such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democrats’ House Majority PAC combined to spend nearly $6.3 […]

Scott PowersNovember 1, 2016

The national Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is going up with digital video commercials in Florida to support several gay candidates for Florida House seats and attack their Republican opponents for voting with the gun lobby. The 30-second commercials begin by pegging onto the June 12 mass murder at Orlando’s popular gay nightclub Pulse, saying […]

Tag: NRA
The Tesla board initiates a CEO succession search for Elon Musk amid concerns about the company and politics . Image via White House/Molly Riley.

Joe Henderson: Vegas killer ‘just a guy’ except he wasn’t

NRA’s video message to ‘elites’: ‘We’re coming for you’

Joe Henderson: After GOP gives NRA another ‘gun rights’ victory, what’s next?

On eve of Pulse massacre anniversary, Gwen Graham pushes gun safety plan

U.S. Senate will consider blocking rule on guns and mentally ill

NRA declares League of Women Voters as ‘gun ban organization’

Linda Stewart and Carlos Guillermo Smith introduce bill to ban assault weapons in Florida

Joe Henderson: Despite opposition, ‘campus carry’ returns

$8 million spent by outside groups in CD 7, mostly to help Stephanie Murphy upset John Mica

Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund internet videos to support LGBT state candidates; pushes gun issues