It seems like a million years ago but the date was actually February 14, 2018 when a 19-year old kid walked into the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida with his AR-15 and shot the place up. The final toll was 17 dead and another 17 injured, and the shooter is going to face 17 murder and 17 attempted murder counts when his trial finally takes place in September of this year.
After the massacre, Trump went on TV and here’s a bit of what he said: “We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life, that creates deep and meaningful human connections and that turns classmates and colleagues into friends and neighbors.”
Trump was concerned about the ‘dignity’ of life? Trump was worried about ‘deep and meaningful human connections?’ Give me a break. Oh well, the good news is that he’s gone. Anyway.
Right after the shooting, the Florida Legislature quickly passed a new law, the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which bars anyone under the age of 21 from buying a long gun – Federal law already prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a handgun. Given that this was Florida, the ‘gunshine state,’ the law also created a new program, School Guardians, who are volunteers trained to patrol schools and carry guns.
Two weeks ago, a District Court Judge upheld the law but yesterday the NRA announced they would appeal the case and try to get the judge’s ruling overturned, in particular, the prohibition against anyone owning a long gun who is not yet 21.
“There is no question that 18-to-21-year-olds are adults in the eyes of the law and the Constitution,” says the NRA’s Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer. “To deny those younger adults their rights because of the actions of criminals is nothing less than political discrimination.”
Good old Granny Hammer. Here she is, all 81-years old and she’s still running around the State Capitol in Tallahassee trying to get gun things done. I love how she knows ‘for a fact’ that the Constitution says that 18-year-olds are adults. Which Constitution is she talking about?
When it comes to gun laws, Florida is really in a class all by itself. Back in 1987, the state passed a law which prohibited localities from passing any gun law that is different from statewide law. They went back in 2011 and changed the law so that any local official who passes a local gun ordnance that pre-empts a state law will lose his job.
The best gun law in Florida was actually a law that didn’t become a law. It was a bill filed by Idiot Number Two, Matt Gaetz, (Idiot Number One is Marjorie Taylor Greene) when he was a State Senator. The bill never got out of committee, even though it was a legislative committee chaired by Gaetz. The bill would have allowed people who were shot to sue the owner of a facility if the shooting took place in a gun-free zone.
Maybe Gaetz figures that when Granny Hammer finally retires, that he can become the NRA’s lobbyist in Florida. Of course, it will be a little tough for him to buttonhole legislatures in the State House if he’s sitting in jail. Oh well, oh well.
I don’t think the NRA really gives one rat’s damn about whether anyone in Florida who is 18 should be able to own an AR-15. What I think their challenge to the Florida gun law really represents is that life is slowly but (hopefully) returning to normal after the ravages of Covid-19.
Because when you stop and think about it, what could be more normal than the NRA leading the crusade to protect our 2nd-Amendment ‘rights?’
Jul 09, 2021 @ 11:51:26
I’d split the difference. 18-21 year olds can by long guns as long as they are not semiauto. My Ithaca Mod. 37 never was an issue with anyone other than a few whitetail deer and I owned it, courtesy of a birthday gift from my old man, since I was sixteen.
Jul 09, 2021 @ 17:43:42
It does seem like a million years ago that a 19-year-old kid walked into the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and shot the place up.
And now, after the million years, we know there were warning signs, yet, all, including a tip to the FBI, were missed.
On that day, school safety measures were in place, like school resource officers, restricted access and fencing–all failed.
The actions taken by Florida legislature just weeks after the Parkland shooting, and signed into law a bill known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, does what Mike has pointed out and more such as a three-day waiting period for purchasing a gun.
To go a little more into the details of the legislation:
Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program:
This bill also allows for the arming of some school employees. Named the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, after one of the faculty members who died at Stoneman protecting the lives of students, it allows school staff who are not exclusively teachers to be trained to carry guns on the job as campus “guardians.” Staff must undergo 132 hours of comprehensive firearm safety training, pass a psychological exam and successfully complete random drug tests and ongoing firearm training.
Many people are against this provision in the Florida law which is not really anything that’s exceptional…it just says that with proper training and meeting other provisions in the law, these people can have weapons. But those who oppose this measure are people saying no because what they really want is another dead Aaron Feis. This is a man who was legally disarmed by the federal government in his attempt to rushed a shooter and he died for it. You can thank the “Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990” for this. Wonder how many parents of the students who died that day wished Coach Feis would have had a gun on him?
So after the school tragedy in Parkland, Florida, how many days had the Drive-By Media blasted the NRA for the school tragedy? Now we find out that at least four Broward County deputies were on the scene, and they refused to enter the building and confront the shooter. To make things worse, the sheriff says this is not a problem with leadership, that he did a fabulous job and his deputies did a fabulous job.
Many people believe that only police officers should be allowed to carry guns on school campus. How did that work out with Scot Peterson, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, School Resource Officer? Former Deputy Peterson was one of the four deputies refusing to enter.
Rudyard Kipling once wrote: “twould be an ill world for weaponless dreamers if evil men were not now and then slain.” And when Kipling talked about no sin greater than ignorance. He said “For it’s “guns this” and “guns that,” and “chuck’em out, the brutes,” But they’re the “Savior of our loved ones” when the thugs begin to loot.”
The legislation also addresses:
Red Flag:
The legislation contains a provision that would grant law enforcement the ability to seize firearms from anyone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
If agree with former President Obama and former A.G. Eric Holder and you believe that the prisons are overcrowded with minorities, and you think it’s unjust and unfair because of bias and racism… you institute a policy designed to change that ratio, and in order to change the ratio, you ignore certain crimes, you don’t report others. If this is your objective, you tie it to money. If you do all this, you get additional grant money from the federal government. Sounds a little like the school-to-prison pipeline don’t you think?
If you look further into the Florida legislation and what helped to push it into law you may find disturbing reports that indicate federal guidance may have contributed to systemic failures to report the shooter’s dangerous behaviors to local law enforcement.
To end…we will never know how many, if any, of the following people would be alive today had the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act would have been law before February 14, 2018.
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Student
Scott Beigel, 35
Geography Teacher and Cross Country Coach
Martin Duque Anguiano, 14
Student
Nicholas Dworet, 17
Student
Aaron Feis, 37
Assistant Football Coach and Security Guard
Jaime Guttenberg, 14
Student
Christopher Hixon, 49
Athetic Director, Wrestling Coach and Security Specialist
Luke Hoyer, 15
Student
Cara Loughran, 14
Student
Gina Montalto, 14
Student
Joaquin Oliver, 17
Student
Alaina Petty, 14
Student
Meadow Pollack, 18
Student
Helena Ramsay, 17
Student
Alexander Schachter, 14
Student
Carmen Schentrup, 16
Student
Peter Wang, 15
Student