TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republicans are more determined than ever to pass bills expanding gun rights in the wake of the deadly Pulse nightclub and Fort Lauderdale airport shootings.
They say law-abiding gun owners should be allowed to take their weapons to airports, government meetings and state universities, and would be in a better position to protect themselves and others if a mass shooting should erupt in one of those places.
"Anytime you create a gun-free zone, you essentially are creating a safe haven for mass shooters and the criminal element and you put law-abiding people at a disadvantage," said Marion Hammer, who has lobbied for the National Rifle Association for more than 42 years.
There are about two dozen gun-related bills filed ahead of next month's 60-day legislative session and the vast majority would expand gun rights so they can be carried, as one opponent said, "pretty much everywhere."
"If it's a reaction to the Pulse shooting and Fort Lauderdale, it's a very odd reaction," said Patti Brigham, a vice president at the League of Women Voters of Florida and co-chair of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. "It's like bad gun bills on steroids."
