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Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Eighty percent of Floridians oppose reverting to pre-Parkland gun laws, poll finds
The vast majority of Florida voters are not in favor of changing the age limit for purchasing a firearm, according to a new poll by MediaLab@FAU, working in conjunction with Florida Atlantic University's PolCom Lab. The results of the poll, conducted between April 4 and 9 by Mainstreet Research, indicate that despite ongoing efforts by state politicians to put the age for acquiring a firearm back to 18 from its current 21, most Florida voters prefer to keep guns out of the hands of teenagers. Of all of the questions posed in the poll initiated by MediaLab@FAU's advanced journalism students, who drafted questions aimed at capturing the mood of Floridians towards the end of the state legislative session (May 2) as well as President Trump's first 100 days in office (April 30), this one came back with the clearest, seemingly bipartisan answer. Voters were asked: 'Should Florida legislators change the age for gun purchases, now 21, back to 18?' A remarkable 80% of Florida voters answered no. Only 12.8% responded with a yes, while 7% were unsure about their answer. After the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, leading to the murder of 17 students and faculty, a local and national outcry ensued. The Florida legislature and then-governor Rick Scott raised the required age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public High School Safety Act. However, there have been repeated efforts to repeal the law. Most recently, HB 759, which reduces the minimum age for purchasing a firearm to 18, passed in the Florida House and was sent to the Florida Senate on April 8. Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced his support for legislators' efforts to allow 18-year-olds to buy guns again, and mentioned this issue that kicked off the legislative session in March. On April 17, a 20-year-old carried out a mass shooting at Florida State University, leading to the deaths of two people and the wounding of five others. The news provided a painful reminder of the ongoing problem of gun violence. Senate Rules Chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said Monday that her committee will not take up HB 759, the News Service of Florida reported, thus leaving the age at 21. Even if the Senate declines to take up the bill now, the fact that it passed in the House for the third year in a row and is strongly supported by the NRA makes it a bill that could yet become law. Dr. Kevin Wagner, the Co-Executive Director of the PolCom Lab, offered some insight on the gaps between where Floridians are polling on this issue, and how their elected representatives in Tallahassee behave. In other words, if four out of five Floridians oppose lowering the age to get a gun, what might account for the fact that the bill once again gained such widespread support in the House, passing on March 26 with a 78-34 vote? 'This issue often represents a case of the 'intensity gap' in politics,' said Dr. Wagner, a Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. 'While polls may find voters who oppose lowering the gun age, those who support it may care more passionately and organize more effectively, which can carry outsized influence in legislative decision-making.' Gender differences were noticeable in the poll results. Among the 12.8% of respondents who said they are in favor of lowering the limits back to 18, men and women polled differently: 19.1% of those in favor were male, while only 6.8% of those in favor were female. In contrast, the 80% of voters against the new legislation consisted of 73.3% male voters and 86.3% female voters. Of those polled in the sample, 89.1% of Democrats, 72.1% of Republicans, and 81.5% of independent voters answered 'no' to the question of whether the age to buy a gun should once again be 18. The group most opposed to the proposed age reduction for a firearm was white college-educated voters, over 85% of whom oppose letting people under 21 buy guns. The poll for MediaLab was conducted during the first two weeks of April by Mainstreet Research, which polled 961 Florida voters over the age of 18. The survey was conducted with text messaging and an online panel. The survey gave respondents the option to complete the survey in English and Spanish. Since the poll was conducted partly with an online sample, there cannot be a margin of error assigned to this poll, Mainstreet Research explained. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.2% at the 95% confidence level. This story was produced by MediaLab@FAU, a project of Florida Atlantic University School of Communication and Multimedia Studies. MediaLab is supported by a grant from Press Forward, a national movement to strengthen democracy by revitalizing local news and information. News organizations are welcome to republish our work, as long as they credit MediaLab and the writers.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lowering gun-buying age will cause more violence in Florida
Even in the wake of the mass shooting April 17 at Florida State University, Florida's GOP-controlled Legislature wants to pass a law lowering the minimum age to buy a long gun from 21 to 18. What not a single Florida state legislator has mentioned is this: the legal drinking age in Florida is 21. These gun partisans want to put long guns in the hands of citizens who cannot even drink legally. The bill, HB 759, has passed the House. I cannot even fathom the deaths that could result from passage of this outlandish law. It makes no sense whatever. What if an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old gets hold of liquor and then decides to legally buy a shotgun or rifle? It is frightening to envision this becoming law. Rich Unger, Sarasota President Donald Trump – a convicted felon – cuts a deal with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, to house deported gang members in a prison notorious for its extreme treatment of prisoners. Kilmar Abrego Garcia – not a convicted felon – is 'mistakenly' sent to this prison. While there have been many attempts to return Garcia to the United States, not even an order from the U.S. Supreme Court has been successful in securing his release. Now I am not a judge, an attorney or a government official. But it seems to me if Trump made this deal with Bukele, then Trump could resolve this dilemma by simply calling Bukele and telling him to release Garcia. This, of course, assumes that Trump has common sense. But, alas, our convicted felon president does not possess this quality. Or is he too busy figuring out the compensation for the Jan. 6 felons? Is this the United States or did I take a wrong turn? James Tierney, Bradenton Heard of Erwin Schrodinger, Hans Krebs or Albert Einstein? These were a few of the dozens of cutting-edge scientists who fled Nazi Germany when government intrusion became intolerable, and their future success would be determined by factors other than their brilliance and competence. Germany's gift to the world of science led to its inability to build the bomb that ended World War II. Ask university professors and scholars what they think about current government efforts to direct their institutions' approach to hiring, promotions, admissions and course content. The best and brightest can find opportunities in any country. Chasing away our future scientific leaders may go as well for us as it did for Germany. Bruce Robinson, Sarasota Write to us: How to send a letter to the editor This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bill to lower gun age will cause more violence in Florida | Letters
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FSU students come to Capitol with asks following campus shooting
Simon Monteleone, a student at Florida State and intern for Rep. Mitch Rosenwald, speaks n April 22. 2025, during a news conference with Rep. Fentrice Driskell and other FSU students who were on campus during the April 17, 2025, campus shooting. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) Florida State University students, joined by House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, are calling for policy change following a campus shooting within walking distance of the chambers where laws are made. A group of students gathered at the Capitol Tuesday only days after they barricaded themselves in classrooms Thursday when a shooter opened fire on campus, killing two and wounding six. 'As a leader, I carry the weight of this moment and turn it into purpose. We owe it to the victims, not just here at Florida State University, but across Florida and across our nation to make sure that this doesn't happen again,' said Andres Perez, president of the FSU chapter of Students Demand Action. The suspected gunman, step-son of a Leon County sheriff's deputy, according to law enforcement, used her retired service weapon. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said it was not surprising 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner would have access to weapons. He was involved with LCSO, including training with the department and sitting on a youth board advising the sheriff. Madalyn Propst, president of FSU College Democrats, called on FSU to put locks on classroom doors, train professors to respond to shootings, and increase financial support for mental health intervention and advocacy. She said the shooting 'was both senseless and preventable.' 'Although it is not a political issue when a mass tragedy happens, it becomes political when it is enabled by poor policy,' Propst said in the Captiol rotunda. 'Because of a lack of proactive planning and poor policy on the hands of our legislators, there are two people who are dead who shouldn't be, six people in the hospital who shouldn't be, thousands of students who no longer feel safe on campus, and a community that is still reeling from a senseless act of violence, and no amount of thoughts and prayers is going to fix that.' Propst called on Congress to reinstate the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and on the Legislature to expand safe storage laws to apply to any house that someone who cannot legally handle a gun lives in. 'Shooting after shooting, we're told to wait, and all we hear are 'thoughts and prayers.' And I'm sensitive to not politicizing an issue but, year after year, we file good, common sense bills to help make our community safer and, unfortunately, they don't even get a committee hearing,' Driskell said. A Senate bill, SB 814, allowing students to carry guns on Florida campuses, lost steam earlier this session, and eyes are on the same chamber to see if it will pick up the House-approved bill, HB 759, to lower the age to buy long guns to 18. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I'm disgusted with my Legislature and the people that I know some of my friends and my family voted for,' Propst said. 'The fact that they are able to sit in this place and prioritize weapons over my life, my friends' lives, and the lives of my community around me is deplorable.' The House bill would reverse in part a 2018 package addressing school safety passed just weeks after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. A response as quick as happened in 2018 does not seem so certain this year. 'I think the only difference [between 2018 and now] is that it seems like the governor is desensitized to this. I mean, we saw the comments from President Trump, that, to me, was such a slap in the face to these students and to everyone in this community who's been impacted by this gun violence,' Driskell. Gov. Ron DeSantis released a video to X the day of the shooting and ordered flags flown at half-staff. President Donald Trump said, 'I will always protect the Second Amendment,' and, 'These things are terrible. But the gun doesn't do the shooting, the people do,' CBS News reported. According to FSU, following the shooting it offered mental health assistance to more than 1,300 students Thursday through Sunday, including 604 on the day of the shooting and 520 on Sunday. The university continues to provide services through this week. The school canceled classes on Friday and resumed classes Monday with optional attendance. The semester ends May 2. Rep. Christine Hunchofsky, mayor of Parkland during the 2018 shooting, reflected on the FSU shooting during a media availability Monday. 'If you haven't been through something like this, it's very hard to understand the level of trauma that people who have been through this are experiencing and, if that doesn't get addressed early enough, it's something that can become debilitating in the long term. And so, it's so important to make sure that everyone has what they need,' Hunchofsky said. Minutes after the shooting on Thursday, Hunchofsky presented HB 1403 to the House Education and Employment Committee, a bill that would address school safety measures. It passed unanimously. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Enough is enough': Students call for change in aftermath of FSU tragedy
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Healing is underway for six people taken to the hospital after the deadly mass shooting at Florida State University. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital was continuing to treat the six patients of the campus shooting that left two others dead. All 6 injured victims expected to make full recoveries following deadly FSU mass shooting 'The response was very fast, and the patients were relatively stable, so we were able to successfully treat all of the injuries, which involved abdominal surgical procedures and also facial surgery,' said Matthew M. Ramseyer, MD, Trauma Surgery. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital staff say of the six patients they saw, three needed surgeries. The two deceased victims were identified as food service workers. One of them being campus dining employee, Robert Morales. Morales' family shared a post on social media saying that he loved his job at FSU and his beautiful wife and daughter. The second victim, Tiru Chabba, was a 45-year-old father of two who lived in Greenville, South Carolina, and was on campus working for a vendor. Up the road from campus, community members and FAMU students joined Seminole students to honor the shooting victims, and the lives lost.'This tragedy demonstrates that gun violence is not limited to any specific community. It can happen to any person at anytime, anywhere or in any situation, especially when you live in a state that prioritizes a bullet over a body,' said a member of Students Demand Action. FSU holds vigils after campus shooting FSU students and advocates in the community want change, specifically, from state lawmakers voting on gun legislation at the capitol.'Lawmakers, legislators, elected officials from federal down to local who aren't listening, aren't hearing our cries and our pains and our frustrations,' said Andres Perez, FSU's Student Demand Action. 'There is legislation, HB 759, that aims to lower the age limit to purchase a firearm down to 18. Now this is a complete disregard to, of course, some Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Act that was passed years ago with bipartisan support and with the Republican Governor Rick Scott, and so to just turn back the clock on that progress and to completely disregard the families are being affected, it's a pure shame.'As students continue to demand change in honor of the lives lost and victims from Thursday's devastating events, hospital staff say they are expecting a full recovery from all patients. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After FSU shooting, will we repeat our cycle of anguish, anger and inaction?
Another horrific mass shooting. Parkland, Pulse, and now FSU — again. In 2014, Florida State University was the scene of gun violence when a 31 year-old graduate of the school opened fire outside of the Strozier Library, wounding two students and a library employee. This time, two were left dead and six others wounded before police subdued the gunman, a 20 year-old student and son of a sheriff's deputy. The response is all too familiar, too. Anger and anguish ringing throughout the campus and the wider Tallahassee community, followed by shock, outrage and ample of amounts of well-intended thoughts and prayers. It's what's likely to happen next that is so discouraging. As many mourn the FSU shooting, state lawmakers, a little more than a mile away, continue to push bills that weaken, not strengthen, gun safety laws in Florida. Our View: Parkland anniversary: Thoughts and prayers won't stop these mass shootings The Florida House has already gone on record, with a 78-34 floor vote, for HB 759, a bill that would roll back a key reform coming out of the 2018 Parkland massacre at the old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The bill would reinstate the gun-buying age for buying rifles and other long guns back to 18 from the current 21 year-old requirement. There's also still support for open carry, a policy that would allow gun owners to brandish weapons in public. Gun-rights advocates have a friend in Gov. Ron DeSantis on that one. State leaders can find ways to support the Second Amendment without neutering sensible gun safety policies, like background checks, red flag laws, registration and training, and bumper stock restrictions, if not outright bans on military-style assault weapons. Better data collection of gun violence that identify trends and lead to new solutions would help, too. Officials are still trying to explain and understand the tragedy at FSU, leaving some to admonish that now is not the time to talk politics around changes to gun laws. The refrain goes something like this: "Now is not the time!" We respectfully disagree, and we'd like to believe that our state leaders can walk and chew gum at the same time by acknowledging the Second Amendment and supporting gun safety. Our elected officials in Tallahassee have the means to protect both gun rights and gun safety. What's still missing is the will. In the meantime, an all-too familiar aftermath and ineffectual response continues to unfold. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FSU shooting kills two victims. Enough is enough | Editorial
