Gun Control

Floridians no longer need a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and gun owners are overwhelmingly opting out of the safety and educational training once required for a license.Firearms instructors are seeing a dramatic drop in student sign ups for such courses, which teach safety and explain the state’s laws about where and how gun owners can lawfully carry pistols and legally use them in self defense.

Effective this past Saturday, a new Florida law went into effect that allows adults who are legally able to carry a concealed firearm to do so without a license. The law includes various changes designed to bolster school safety, including providing additional money for school hardening.What the new law does not change are the venues where guns are not allowed.

A proposal to ban merchant codes for gun and ammunition sales in Florida is ready for the full House. It’s already been approved by the Senate, largely along party lines.

Two House Republicans filed a proposal this week that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other "long" guns.

Democratic lawmakers say the bill would eliminate the firearms-training requirement. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri calls current training requirements tied to the licensing process “meaningless.”

Republican state lawmakers have filed legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a dispute about a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations. The so-called ‘preemption law’ is being challenged by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials, as well as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. We talk with Fried about the lawsuit and issues around gun violence. Fried is also a Democratic candidate for Governor.

Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas and the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York less than two weeks ago have reignited efforts among Florida Democratic lawmakers to push for tougher firearm laws in the sunshine state. We hear from representatives of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Prevent Gun Violence Florida, Inc., about the current status of gun regulations in Florida and stalled efforts at the federal level to impose stricter background check requirements for gun purchases.

TALLAHASSEE --- The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to ban possession of assault-style weapons...