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Assault Weapons

Buesing to Young, Senate Republicans: “Do the right thing” on assault weapons

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Bob Buesing, Democratic candidate for Florida Senate, District 18, issued the following statement today on gun reform legislation before the Senate Committee on Rules:

“I am deeply disappointed today by the majority members of the Florida Senate Rules Committee. By voting down an amendment banning assault weapons, the Republicans on this committee have shown that the only constituency they answer to is the National Rifle Association.

“In the twelve days since the horrific mass shooting unfolded in Parkland, Dana Young has done nothing, and her silence is deafening. An “A-rated” NRA politician herself, she would rather appease our state’s gun lobby than take action to protect its schoolchildren.

“We need a ban on assault weapons in Florida because we know it works to decrease gun violence. Today I am calling on Tallahassee politicians like Dana Young to do the right thing: get these weapons of war off Florida streets and protect our communities.”

Senator Linda Stewart Files Amendments Banning Assault Weapons and High Capacity Magazines

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State Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) has filed two amendments to confront the urgent need for gun safety reform onto bills presently scheduled for a floor vote this morning. Both amendments ban the sale of civilian versions of military assault weapons and the high capacity magazines that make them so lethal. For the past two years, Senator Stewart has relentlessly pushed to enact gun violence prevention legislation. The amendments filed Tuesday afternoon ensure that the 17 souls lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre were not in vain, but instead are a call to action. Each amendment revises SB 1048 and HB 55, bills that were designed to promote the proliferation of firearms in Florida, including in schools.

“These bills quintessentially reflect how out-of-touch our state legislature has become,” said Senator Stewart. “My amendments are simple: Ban high-capacity magazines and weapons of mass murder. If you stand for life and family values, how can you sit idly as children are being slaughtered and lives are being forever shattered? How can we, as lawmakers charged with the safety and well-being of our state’s citizens, continue to do nothing?”

Senators will convene in the Senate Chamber at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, February 21, 2018. The amendments are intended to prevent weapons specifically designed to deliver high rates of lethal gunfire without the need to pause and reload from falling into the hands of people such as the shooter who carried out the MSD High School massacre. Students from MSD High School will be present in the gallery before they join the Rally Supporting Gun Safety Reforms.