Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschMarch 3, 2018

There is “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment in the Legislature, leaders say, but an ethics reform package that would create new rules and penalties for sexual harassment may not become law this year. The Florida House unanimously passed the proposal this week, but Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley is blocking the bill in the Senate because […]

Scott PowersMarch 2, 2018

Democrats have launched billboards in Orlando and Tallahassee that declare that Gov. Rick Scott did nothing to address gun safety following the June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando. The Florida Democratic Party has leased two billboards, and the one in Orlando went live Friday. The message charges that the Republican governor’s commitment to […]

Scott PowersMarch 2, 2018

The Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, a national gay rights organization launched in response to Orlando’s 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in order to advocate gun control, is releasing a new video focusing on the pain and anger surrounding mass murders, with the intention of keeping emotions high. The video makes a direct accusation toward […]

Scott PowersMarch 2, 2018

Florida’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson was conspicuously absent from a meeting President Donald Trump convened Wednesday in the West Wing with key lawmakers and stakeholders in the gun violence debate following the Parkland massacre, and on Friday he dismissed the meeting as show, and predicted Trump will pivot from assurances he made there. Speaking […]

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2018

Florida’s Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday announced his Senate plan to respond to the Parkland massacre, which includes strengthening school security, providing for “restraining order” powers for police to confiscate weapons from dangerous individuals and adding to the gun purchase background-check databases. Rubio said his plan, which he called a comprehensive response, has […]

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2018

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis on Thursday denounced Florida Legislature efforts to tighten gun restrictions and said the mass shooting two weeks ago at the Parkland high school should be seen as “a catastrophic failure” by the Broward County sheriff and the FBI. DeSantis, a congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, has made similar comments in […]

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2018

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris King has released a new online campaign video declaring that the massacres in Pulse and Parkland demand a transformation of Florida politics, stressing his commitments to banning assault weapons, pushing for universal background checks, and expanding Medicaid. The 90-second video “This is the Year” includes footage of vigils held for the mass […]

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2018

Survivors, family, and community members battered but not beaten by Florida’s two great recent tragedies met in Orlando Wednesday at Pulse nightclub, uniting in their grief, anger, determination and a frustration over how things do or do not change. A busload of Parkland community members, including families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, came […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 28, 2018

At a Congressional roundtable Wednesday at the White House, Sen. Marco Rubio described the Parkland murders not as a failure of gun control, but as a “multi-systemic failure.” “This was a multi-systemic failure,” Rubio said. “The Sheriff’s Office knew this was a problem. The FBI knew this was a problem. The Department of Children and Families […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 28, 2018

It’s crunch time in Gov. Rick Scott‘s final Legislative Session, and in the wake of the mass murder in Parkland, a $500 million “school safety” plan is his last big pitch. The plan has three components: “Gun laws, school safety, and mental health.” The plan offers some moves toward gun control: restrictions of purchases by those […]

Tag: Parkland

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Ethics reform in peril

Democrats’ Orlando billboard proclaims ‘Rick Scott did nothing’ after Pulse

Pride Fund launching on-line video focusing on the emotions of gun violence

Bill Nelson bemoans snub to White House gun meeting as ‘counter productive’

Marco Rubio post-Parkland plan focuses on school security, restraining order seizures

Ron DeSantis calls Parkland massacre a failure of FBI, sheriff; denounces state gun proposals

Chris King releases video ad on Parkland, Pulse, seeking ‘transformation’

Parkland meets Pulse, uniting in grief, anger and frustration

Marco Rubio says Parkland murders result of ‘multi-systemic failure’

Rick Scott pitches gun control, school hardening proposals in Jacksonville market