Giffords Rebukes Florida Legislature for Passing Legislation Putting Students at Risk
Lawmakers backtrack on progress made last year by approving a bill that seeks to put guns in kids’ classrooms
May 1, 2019 — Giffords, the gun safety organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, criticized the Florida legislature for passing SB 7030, shortsighted legislation that leaves students vulnerable at school by expanding the state’s guardian program to include classroom teachers. The bill’s passage comes just a day after a Pasco School Resource Officer’s gun went off in Weightman Middle School’s cafeteria, striking a wall.
Statement from Nico Bocour, state legislative director at Giffords:
“The courage Florida lawmakers showed last year by coming together to pass a law that will save lives has disappeared. In its place, they have once again turned themselves into rubber stamps for the gun lobby. The consequences of this dangerous decision will be felt by parents, teachers, and students who are adamantly opposed to the idea. Classrooms should be safe havens for learning, and having guns in schools makes them less safe. This policy won’t prevent the tragic shootings that have become a sad reality in America, it will lead to more tragedy. It’s time for the legislature to listen to the demands of Florida families, and work once again to pass stronger gun laws.”
A recent blog by Giffords Law Center found that at least once a month, over 60 times from 2014-2018, a gun was mishandled while on school property. The blog divides the incidents into categories and includes instances such as:
- A teacher’s loaded gun falling from his waistband during a cartwheel.
- A student grabbing an officer’s gun while the officer attempted to subdue the student.
- A teacher unintentionally firing a gun in class during a safety demonstration.
Click here to read the blog post.
Polling indicates that arming teachers is an incredibly unpopular proposition, opposed by seven out of ten teenagers, eight out of ten teachers, and seven out of ten parents.
This move marks a step backward after lawmakers came together last year to make Florida’s laws stronger. The latest edition of the Giffords Law Center Annual Gun Law Scorecard, which grades and ranks each state on the strength of its gun laws, founds that Florida significantly raised its grade in 2018, from an F to a C-. After the mass shooting in Parkland in February, the state legislature passed a package of gun safety bills that included an extreme risk protection law, a higher minimum age for buying firearms, and stronger waiting periods.
A report by Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence notes that local businesses are severely impacted when gun violence occurs as shootings keep customers and tourists away and often limit hours of operation. On average, there are over 6,000 shootings in Florida each year, resulting in directly measurable costs of over $5 billion annually. That includes:
- Healthcare costs: $228 million
- Law enforcement and criminal justice expenses: $383 million
- Costs to employers: $29 million
- Lost income: $4.4 billion
Much of this tab is picked up by the public. Up to 85% of gunshot victims, for example, are either uninsured or on some form of publicly funded insurance. Additionally, law enforcement efforts are funded entirely by taxpayer dollars. As a result, the direct annual cost of gun violence to Florida taxpayers is approximately $950 million.
Even more striking, when indirect costs that impact families and communities are factored in, the overall estimate of the economic cost of gun violence rises to over $14.1 billion per year.