Florida taxpayers are helping subsidize three industries that have been blamed for recent mass shootings: violent movies, bloody video games and high-powered assault weapons. In 2012 the Florida legislature gave more than $10 million worth of economic incentives to those three industries while Governor Rick Scott vetoed funding to mental health programs.
The state legislature has made Florida's tax code more business-friendly in recent years in order to lure more jobs to the state.
Toluse Olorunnipa, a state politics reporter for the Miami Herald, explained, "The movie issue is kind of interesting because a lot of the lawmakers who are defending the gun rights are going after the movies, but maybe haven't realized that Florida is actually subsidizing a lot of these movies. So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out and whether there's any move to clamp down on any of these incentives moving forward."
Meanwhile, lawmakers cut funding for school safety by $1.8 million in 2012 while Governor Rick Scott vetoed $5.7 million for mental health programs.
Nationally, Florida ranks 49th in mental health funding.