TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Immediately following the Speaker’s press conference, announcing the expansion of permit-less carry, Florida House Democrats provided the following responses.
“Permitless carry is dangerous for Floridians. Responsible gun ownership means knowing how to operate and store your firearm for your own safety and for the safety of those around you,” said Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa). “Floridians deserve the freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe, and as the current data available to us shows, this will not make Floridians safer.”
“Freedom should include the freedom to live a life free of gun violence. That’s not the case today in Florida and it won’t be the case with permit-less carry either. We are experiencing a historically high level of gun violence and the evidence is clear that this policy is bad for public safety, and passing it will be dangerous. Florida families and communities deserve real solutions to address gun violence—not extremist proposals that jeopardize public health and safety,” said Representative Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando).
“Untrained carry does not make our communities safer. We should be focusing on responsible gun ownership which includes universal background checks, safe storage, education, expanded risk protection orders, and regulating ghost guns. Responsible gun ownership leads to safer communities,” said Representative Christine Hunschofsky (D-Parkland).
“I find it deeply troubling that while just over two weeks from now we will memorialize the 5th Anniversary of the mass shooting at my alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, we are taking steps backwards on common sense gun safety,” said Representative Dan Daley (D-Coral Springs). “Today’s announcement by Republican Leadership pushing permit-less carry not only takes our state back in time, pre-MSD shooting, but back to the days of the Wild West where gun slingers could wear their guns on their hips and pursue their own “justice” whenever they saw fit. Permit-less carry doesn’t belong in a civilized society, but it’s a priority of Florida’s ‘golden boy’ Governor and presumptive Presidential Candidate, and this Legislature will never stand in his way – regardless of the public safety implications in doing so. There’s a reason law enforcement has opposed this measure in each state who has passed it. According to research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, states who have relaxed restrictions on concealed carry have seen an increase, on average of 12.9 percent, of police involved shootings. We talk about Florida being a pro-law enforcement and public safety state. That is clearly no longer the case.”
If you missed this morning’s Florida House Democrats press conference responding to the Speaker’s permitless carry proposal, you can access it here: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/RmTyGesdRUBCgc-56FifkXj2fp0_z2RMRteFnY5Cf0D91frN8Imsddeu2-nMkmDg.NOc08pQsnp2BExn9?startTime=1675095236000
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