TALLAHASSEE — Florida, long dubbed the “gunshine state,” is one stroke of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pen away from allowing people to carry guns without concealed-weapons licenses.
The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a measure (HB 543) that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without having to meet requirements such as firearms training and background screening. The House approved the bill last week, and DeSantis has pledged to sign it.
Under the measure, people carrying concealed firearms would be required to have valid identification and be able to “display such identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer.”
Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican who sponsored the measure, echoed many supporters in saying that it is designed to prevent Floridians from having to get a “permission slip” to carry guns.
“What this bill does is remove the need for that government permit, that permission slip, to carry a concealed weapon,” Collins said just before the Republican-dominated Senate signed off on the bill.
But Democrats have slammed the bill as having the potential to make Floridians less safe. Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, drew on his experience as a former police officer in pushing against the removal of the training requirements.
“As a former law-enforcement (officer) for 20 years in New York City, I had the privilege of carrying a weapon on me, a gun,” Torres said. “But I was trained, over and over and over and over and over. Why? The safety of the public.”
The gun law measure also cleared the Senate just days after a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee in which three children and three adults were killed. Some Democrats on Thursday criticized the measure as running counter to “progress” that lawmakers made on gun policies after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“Why we are going in the opposite direction from the progress we made after the tragedy of Parkland is beyond me,” Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, said.
But several Republican senators touted parts of the bill that seek to bolster school-safety, including a provision that would allow private schools to participate in a controversial program that allows armed “guardians” on campuses. The bill also would provide money for school hardening.
Many supporters labeled the measure a “constitutional carry” bill, in reference to Second Amendment constitutional rights. But as the bill has moved through the legislative process, a debate simmered about whether the “constitutional carry” label is a good fit for the proposal — with some gun-rights advocates arguing it was a misnomer.
"This bill is a half-measure and is not what gun owners were promised. It isn't true constitutional carry because it doesn't include an open carry provision. This bill is weak and failed leadership on part of Gov. DeSantis and the Republican legislative leadership. Gun owners deserve better,” Matt Collins, a former gun lobbyist who lives in Central Florida, said in a statement.
PARENTAL RIGHTS, EXPANDED
At the midpoint of the 60-day legislative session, Republican lawmakers, who have supermajorities in the House and Senate, appear set to keep their foot on the gas as the chambers continue racing through high-profile bills.
The House on Friday took a step toward expanding a controversial 2022 law that prohibits instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, by approving a bill that would broaden the prohibition to pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
The measure (HB 1069) would expand the law formally titled Parental Rights in Education, which critics disparagingly labeled the “don’t say gay” measure. The law currently bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
The wide-ranging bill also seeks to restrict the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, and bolsters a process for people to object to instructional materials and school-library books.
Rep. Chase Tramont, R-Port Orange, said the bill is “pro-family, it is pro-teacher, it is pro-education.”
“It is pro-family because it takes some of the most-sensitive and personal issues and discussions and it keeps them in the homes where it is the responsibility of the parent to determine the manner in which, and frankly the timing in which, some of these issues and conversations should be taking place,” Tramont said.
But Democrats blasted the effort to expand the 2022 law.
“Look, the LGBTQ community isn’t going away, trans people aren’t going away. What has gone away, that I pray comes back, is human decency,” Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, said.
Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, argued that the “expansion of the original ‘don’t say gay’ bill will continue to cause confusion, fear and even more problems than we had with the original bill."
TENURE TROUBLE?
The state university system's Board of Governors on Wednesday gave final approval to a regulation that would require faculty members to undergo post-tenure reviews every five years, amid heavy opposition from critics who argued it could lead to a "downward trend in morale" on campus.
The regulation, which stems from a 2022 higher-education law, has generated controversy as opponents contend that review processes already exist — and that the review revamp sends the wrong message to faculty.
The United Faculty of Florida union has fiercely objected to the tenure-review changes. Union President Andrew Gothard, who is a Florida Atlantic University professor, said the new regulation will turn tenure into a “five-year revolving contract.”
State university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, a former Republican state senator who took the helm of the system in September, was a sponsor of the measure that led to the new tenure-review process. Rodrigues acknowledged that every institution in Florida has post-tenure review, but defended the new regulation.
“We’ve got more than 25 years of data, and we know that adopting post-tenure review did not stop people — highly talented faculty members — from coming to the state of Florida,” Rodrigues said.