As students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglass returned to school today for the first time since the shooting, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) took to the Senate floor this evening to urge his colleagues to act on common sense gun reform measures.
“We’ve seen an entire community turn its grief and outrage into a massive call for change – and we’ve done nothing,” Nelson said. “If these brave young students who lost their fellow students and faculty aren’t enough to break through the gridlock here in Congress, what is it going to take?”
Nelson cosponsored legislation in the Senate that would, among other things, ban the sale, transfer or manufacture of semi-automatic assault rifles, such as the AR-15. It would also ban so-called “bump stocks” and high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Nelson, who has called on Congress to expand universal background checks, has also cosponsored legislation that would close the so-called “gun show loophole” by requiring a background check for the sale or transfer of any firearm, regardless of where it is purchased.
“Let’s not let what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High fade into memory like so many other tragedies that have happened,” Nelson said. “Let’s do what so many before us have been unable to do – let’s take action. Let this massacre be the last massacre.”
