Florida Legislature Leaves Town after Making Floridians Less Safe
Miami, FL — Today, GIFFORDS Florida, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released a statement at the end of the legislative session reiterating the dangerous direction that Florida is headed in after the recent passage of the dangerous and unpopular “Anyone with a Gun” permitless carry legislation.
With the passage of permitless carry, people who have never passed a background check or even fired a gun in their lives are allowed to carry hidden, loaded guns in public places. As the nation grapples with an increase in gun violence and rage-driven shootings, Governor DeSantis has pushed an agenda in Tallahassee that only further endangers Florida families.
GIFFORDS Florida Senior Advisor and former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell:
“Florida Republicans knowingly put constituents’ lives at risk just to help Governor DeSantis cozy up to the gun lobby in a desperate, but unsuccessful, bid to rescue sagging poll numbers. Floridians across the state know we are in the midst of a gun violence crisis and they know Republicans just packed up and left town without lifting a finger to fix it—in fact, they’ve only made it worse. As long as Florida lawmakers remain out of touch with the people, GIFFORDS Florida will work in communities all over the state to save lives from gun violence.
GIFFORDS Florida State Director Samantha Barrios:
“Every single gun death is preventable—every single one. But to save lives we need lawmakers who want to do something about it. By leaving town after allowing more guns to flood our streets, Florida Republicans just showed us that they simply don’t. Floridians deserve leaders who take the safety of our families and communities seriously. Governor DeSantis and Republicans in the legislature have again ignored the people they are supposed to represent and shown they only care about the corporate gun lobby. We will not stop fighting for the leadership we deserve.”
In addition to permitless carry, Governor DeSantis also pushed a bill that prohibits the use of dedicated credit card codes for firearm purchases, an important law enforcement tool. Merchant category codes exist for up to 10,000 different types of merchants and help detect suspicious activity around terrorism, money laundering, and human trafficking. There is no reason that firearms and ammunition should get special treatment, but Governor DeSantis disagrees y. By signing this bill into law, he has blocked a critical law enforcement tool that could be used to identify and flag suspicious purchases–again putting gun industry profits over public safety.
GIFFORDS led a robust campaign against permitless carry this session. GIFFORDS released polling in September 2022 that found three in five Florida voters opposed permitless carry. The same poll found overwhelmingly bipartisan support for universal background checks (76%).
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