With Florida's Democratic lawmakers demanding a Special Session on gun control, Gov. Ron DeSantis says Democrats are coming after the Second Amendment.
Rep. Joe Geller, the Aventura Democrat who began the call for a new Special Session, says their proposed topics were supposed to draw the Republican majority to the table following last month's mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. But in answering a reporter's question on Wednesday when explaining Democrats' outline, the Republican Governor spurned Democrats' proposals, likely damning the longshot effort.
"With all due respect to these leftists, they just want to come after your Second Amendment rights," DeSantis said. "Let's just be honest, that's what they want to do. They don't want you — they view you, as a law-abiding citizen, as the target of what they're trying to do. How can they, on the one hand, say they're serious about this when they support these people who let all the criminals out of prison and they don't prosecute people?"
Special Sessions are limited to the topics originally outlined for the Session, except when approved by the Governor or by two-thirds support of both chambers. Geller's Special Session call is limited to regulating high-capacity rifle magazines, mandating universal background checks and expanding red flag laws.
While Geller on Tuesday told reporters he personally supports an assault weapons ban, he said his Special Session call is tailored to include "commonsense" legislation that has support from the majority of Floridians and Americans and potentially has bipartisan support.
"This is a package designed to get our colleagues across the aisle to join us in this call," Geller said. "This is not a time to be fencing around the edges. We must act. We have to do something."
After a requisite 20% of lawmakers indicated initial support for a Special Session, the Department of State began polling all members of the Legislature on Monday. Three-fifths of each chamber must vote "yes" by 3 p.m. Friday to compel the Legislature to a Special Session.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the tally stood at 12-3 in favor in the Senate and 34-3 in favor in the House. However, only six Republicans had voted, and all six voted "no."
As Florida Democratic lawmakers held a news conference to promote the Special Session on Tuesday, actor and Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey gave an impassioned plea for gun reform during a White House news briefing. He shared stories of the 19 students who, along with two teachers, were killed at Robb Elementary School two weeks ago. Seventeen others were shot in the massacre.
Earlier in May in Buffalo, 10 Black people were killed at a supermarket during an attack livestreamed by the shooter. Three others were injured.
If successful, the gun violence Special Session would be the third this year and the fifth this term. The previous Special Sessions — with topics including redistricting, Disney and property insurance — have been called at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, who has said he would not have signed the post-Parkland bill like Scott did when he was Governor, has advocated for constitutional carry legislation in recent months. Such a law would remove the need for Floridians to acquire a permit to carry an open or concealed firearm.
In his first comments, on Friday, about gun violence following the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings, DeSantis said law enforcement must be held accountable, noting reports that officers stood by at Robb Elementary while the shooting was underway. He also expressed his plan to follow recommendations from the MSD High School Public Safety Commission, which he carried out by signing legislation earlier Tuesday to update the MSD High School Public Safety Act.
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