When it comes to gun rights, we expect Republicans to step up and either protect them or restore them, particularly in such a red state as Florida, but a recent bill was killed in committee not because of Democratic opposition so much as Republicans who can't be trusted on the right to keep and bear arms.
The bill was simple. It would allow college students to lawfully carry their firearms on campus and in the dorms. Campus carry is on the books in several states, and there has yet to be a single issue from it. It would have also allowed adults who lawfully own firearms to carry them in other schools and on school buses. Again, there are states with similar measures and a profound lack of problems.
But it seems that while it might not have potentially passed the legislature, it was voted down here because of the actions of Republicans.
Because two Republicans stepped out, and a third voted “no,” a conservative Florida bill that would have allowed guns on school buses and in university dorms died in its first Senate committee on Tuesday.
The final vote on Sen. Randy Fine’s SB 814 was 4 “nays” to 3 “ayes” in Tuesday’s Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The failure of a Republican bill in committee is exceedingly rare in the Florida Legislature, which enjoys a conservative supermajority.
Even rarer?
The deciding “no” vote was another Republican, Sen. Ileana Garcia. Republican Senators Jennifer Bradley and Corey Simon were absent during the vote, allowing the three Democrats and Garcia to officially kill the bill.
It was Fine’s final bill as a state lawmaker before he resigns his seat to pursue a congressional run.
First, where the heck were the other two senators? Why weren't they present?
It's entirely possible that they arranged things so they'd be out and Garcia could fall on the sword for them. It's also perfectly possible that they had something going on that they couldn't get out of.
But the fact that they weren't there to offer votes allowing the bill to advance is a problem, just as Garcia's vote is.
Florida is one of the reddest states in the nation, but it's also the most restrictive pro-gun state out there. The laws on the books are stupid, and loosening them to some degree is a moral imperative there. While this bill was unlikely to have an easy path toward passing, it shouldn't have. It should have been a gimme.
Instead, GOP lawmakers have failed the voters, many of whom put them in office to protect and restore their right to keep and bear arms.
Luckily, they do have an opportunity to fix this by voting out at least Garcia and possibly even Simon and Bradley if those two can't offer up a valid reason for not being present.
The right to keep and bear arms matters. This should never be a thing. Especially as schools are popular targets for mass murderers who ignore the gun-free zone signs all the time, but the law-abiding folks inside the buildings don't. They shouldn't have to in order to defend themselves, but that's where things stand. It's ridiculous.
Like I say, with Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?