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The Independent
29-07-2025
- The Independent
Schools could soon deploy a ‘campus guardian angel' drone defense system against shootings
Florida schools could soon deploy the 'Campus Guardian Angel' drone system to help police defend against shootings. School shootings are prevalent in America, especially in states such as Florida. The state has documented more than 60 school shooting incidents since 2018, local ABC affiliate WTXL reported, citing the K-12 School Shooting Database. Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in February 2018. A total of 17 people were killed and 17 more were injured. Cruz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The new drone technology could help prevent such tragedies by deploying drones to schools in seconds and providing police with immediate situational awareness, according to WTXL, which reported on the program. On Monday, the program was demonstrated at the Leon County Schools District Security Center. The drones live-streamed video, and one even knocked down a dummy to show its ability to use force to delay a threat. The pilot program has $557,000 in state funding behind it, but Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna told WTXL the cost to fully implement the system past the pilot could be more than $1 million. 'I think anytime you make an investment you have to think of the return on that investment. So, as we are hiring an additional deputy sheriff in all of our high schools, so we have security monitors in all of our schools,' Hanna said. He continued: 'We have a weapons detection dog—that comes with the price tag. We have AI software in our cameras. All that comes at a price point, and so it's us managing that budget and trying to figure out where we're getting the biggest bang for our buck.' The state funding for the pilot program will cover its implementation in three school districts, according to the local outlet. Leon County is being considered. In April, some of the students who survived the Parkland shooting had to endure another school shooting at Florida State University. The suspected gunman, Phoenix Ikner, has been accused of killing two people and injuring six more. His defense attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NRA Takes Florida Gun Law to Supreme Court
Calling split appellate-court decisions 'intolerable,' the National Rifle Association on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a challenge to a Florida law that raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21. Friday's move was the latest in seven years of legal wrangling over the law passed after a February 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 students and faculty members. Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time, used a semiautomatic rifle to gun down the victims at his former school. The NRA filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the gun-age restriction shortly after the law passed. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Florida, Alabama and Georgia, in March upheld the law, saying in an 8-4 ruling that the age restriction is 'consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation.' The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling last year in a Colorado case. But in what is known as a 'petition for writ of certiorari' filed Friday in the Florida case, lawyers for the NRA pointed to a January ruling by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found a federal restriction prohibiting gun sales to people ages 18 to 20 was unconstitutional. The 5th circuit includes Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The conflicting appellate-court decisions warrant Supreme Court review of the Florida law, the petition said. 'This split between the circuits over so fundamental a question is intolerable, and it urgently calls for this (Supreme) Court's resolution,' the document said. The March ruling by the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a three-judge panel's decision. The ruling outlined the history of the nation's gun laws, from its founding to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions setting guidelines for determining how to apply the Second Amendment. While the law barred people under 21 from buying rifles and long guns, they still can receive them, for example, as gifts from family members. 'From this history emerges a straightforward conclusion: the Florida law is consistent with our regulatory tradition in why and how it burdens the right of minors to keep and bear arms,' Chief Judge William Pryor wrote. 'Because minors have yet to reach the age of reason, the Florida law prohibits them from purchasing firearms, yet it allows them to receive firearms from their parents or another responsible adult.' But the NRA argued Friday that the Atlanta-based court's historical analysis was faulty, in part, because 18-to-20-year-olds in Florida are adults, not minors. 'The founding-era rule, even by the en banc (full court) majority's lights, only limited the right to keep and bear arms of legal minors — persons who were not treated as adults for most other purposes and who remained within the care, custody and protection of their parents. But Florida's law strips the right to acquire firearms from legal adults — 18-to-20-year-olds who enjoy the practical and legal benefits of adulthood, who are not within the custody or protection of their parents, and who often have families of their own,' the gun-rights group's lawyers wrote. Partially quoting from a Supreme Court precedent, the petition also said, 'A fundamental incident of adulthood in America is the enjoyment of constitutional rights, including the right to defend yourself, your family, and your home with common firearms. Stripping away an 18-year-old adult's Second Amendment rights is thus fundamentally irreconcilable 'with the principles that underpin the nation's regulatory tradition,' … and the court should grant the writ and reverse.' The decision in the Florida case also erred because of 'strong historical evidence that law-abiding 18-to-20-year-old citizens were understood at the founding to enjoy the Second Amendment's protections,' the NRA's petition said. Florida and its experts 'have not identified, and we are not aware of, any evidence whatsoever of colonial or founding-era laws restricting the keeping, carrying, or acquisition of firearms by individuals aged 18 or over because of their age,' NRA's lawyers wrote. Federal law has long barred people under 21 from buying handguns. The 2018 Florida law restricting long-gun sales to people under 21 says it was intended to 'address the crisis of violence, including but not limited to, gun violence on school campuses.' The NRA's petition said the 'meagre evidence' the 11th Circuit relied on to uphold the law 'falls far short of establishing' that the tradition of firearm regulation 'restricted 18-to-20-year-olds' access to firearms at all.' 'In states across the country, 18-to-20-year-olds are considered legal adults for virtually all purposes: they may make contracts, vote, serve on juries, petition the government, freely express their views, and serve in (or be conscripted into) the armed services,' the petition said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.


CBS News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
NRA takes Florida gun law to U.S. Supreme Court
Calling split appellate court decisions "intolerable," the National Rifle Association on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a challenge to a Florida law that raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21. Friday's move was the latest in seven years of legal wrangling over the law passed after a February 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 students and faculty members. Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time, used a semiautomatic rifle to gun down the victims at his former school. The NRA filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the gun-age restriction shortly after the law passed. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Florida, Alabama and Georgia, in March upheld the law, saying in an 8-4 ruling that the age restriction is "consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation." The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling last year in a Colorado case. But in what is known as a "petition for writ of certiorari" filed Friday in the Florida case, lawyers for the NRA pointed to a January ruling by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found a federal restriction prohibiting gun sales to people ages 18 to 20 was unconstitutional. The 5th circuit includes Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The conflicting appellate court decisions warrant Supreme Court review of the Florida law, the petition said. "This split between the circuits over so fundamental a question is intolerable, and it urgently calls for this (Supreme) Court's resolution," the document said. NRA challenges historical basis of Florida's age restriction law The March ruling by the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a three-judge panel's decision. The ruling outlined the history of the nation's gun laws, from its founding to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions setting guidelines for determining how to apply the Second Amendment. While the law barred people under 21 from buying rifles and long guns, they still can receive them, for example, as gifts from family members. "From this history emerges a straightforward conclusion: the Florida law is consistent with our regulatory tradition in why and how it burdens the right of minors to keep and bear arms," Chief Judge William Pryor wrote. "Because minors have yet to reach the age of reason, the Florida law prohibits them from purchasing firearms, yet it allows them to receive firearms from their parents or another responsible adult." But the NRA argued Friday that the Atlanta-based court's historical analysis was faulty, in part, because 18-to-20-year-olds in Florida are adults, not minors. "The founding-era rule, even by the en banc (full court) majority's lights, only limited the right to keep and bear arms of legal minors - persons who were not treated as adults for most other purposes and who remained within the care, custody and protection of their parents. But Florida's law strips the right to acquire firearms from legal adults - 18-to-20-year-olds who enjoy the practical and legal benefits of adulthood, who are not within the custody or protection of their parents, and who often have families of their own," the gun Rights group's lawyers wrote. Partially quoting from a Supreme Court precedent, the petition also said, "A fundamental incident of adulthood in America is the enjoyment of constitutional rights, including the right to defend yourself, your family, and your home with common firearms. Stripping away an 18-year-old adult's Second Amendment rights is thus fundamentally irreconcilable 'with the principles that underpin the nation's regulatory tradition,' ... and the court should grant the writ and reverse." The decision in the Florida case also erred because of "strong historical evidence that law-abiding 18-to-20-year-old citizens were understood at the founding to enjoy the Second Amendment's protections," the NRA's petition said. Florida and its experts "have not identified, and we are not aware of, any evidence whatsoever of colonial or founding-era laws restricting the keeping, carrying, or acquisition of firearms by individuals aged 18 or over because of their age," the NRA's lawyers wrote. Federal law has long barred people under 21 from buying handguns. The 2018 Florida law restricting long-gun sales to people under 21 says it was intended to "address the crisis of violence, including but not limited to, gun violence on school campuses." The NRA's petition said the "meager evidence" the 11th Circuit relied on to uphold the law "falls far short of establishing" that the tradition of firearm regulation "restricted 18-to-20-year-olds' access to firearms at all." "In states across the country, 18-to-20-year-olds are considered legal adults for virtually all purposes: they may make contracts, vote, serve on juries, petition the government, freely express their views, and serve in (or be conscripted into) the armed services," the petition said.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida House approves repealing gun purchasing age law
In an issue rooted in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Florida House on Wednesday approved repealing a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns. The Republican-controlled House voted 78-34 to pass the bill (HB 759), though it remains unclear whether the Senate will take up the issue. The House passed repeal bills in 2023 and 2024, but they did not get through the Senate. As in past years, this year's bill drew heavy — and, at times, emotional — debate. Then-Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature in 2018 approved the law to increase the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21 after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 students and faculty members at the Parkland school. Opponents of the bill Wednesday said family members of Parkland victims urged lawmakers to pass the higher minimum age. Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat who was a Broward County School Board member at the time of the mass shooting, urged House members to 'continue to honor the promise to those families.' 'Every single time we do this, members, it reopens wounds you can't even imagine,' said Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas. But supporters of the bill said 18-year-olds can do such things as vote, join the military and serve on juries. They said 18-year-olds also should be able to buy guns. 'To me, this is simply a matter of consistency,' Rep. Judson Sapp, R-Green Cove Springs, said. Federal law has long prevented people under 21 from buying handguns. While the Florida law bars purchases of rifles and other long guns, it allows people under 21 to receive guns, for example, as gifts from family members. Shortly after the Florida law passed in 2018, the National Rifle Association filed a federal lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month, in an 8-4 ruling, upheld the law. Opponents of the repeal bill Wednesday cited that ruling as they tried to counter arguments that the law violates the Second Amendment. Also, opponents cited research about brain development of young adults and their heightened involvement in shootings. 'The science and the facts don't lie on this issue,' Daley said. But supporters of the bill raised scenarios such as the law preventing young single mothers from buying guns to protect themselves. 'To me, this bill is about the right to defend yourself, the right to keep and bear arms,' bill sponsor Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, said. Wednesday's vote was largely along party lines, with one Democrat, Jose Alvarez of Kissimmee, supporting the bill. Six Republicans voted against it. They were Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach; Rep. Anne Gerwig, R-Wellington; Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach; Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point; Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Miami; and Rep. Susan Valdes, R-Tampa. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.


CBS News
27-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Repeal of Florida's gun age law passes in House, unclear if Senate will take it up
In an issue rooted in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Florida House has approved repealing a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns. The Republican-controlled House voted 78-34 to pass the bill, though it remains unclear whether the Senate will take up the issue. The House passed repeal bills in 2023 and 2024, but they did not get through the Senate. As in past years, this year's bill drew heavy and, at times, emotional debate. Then-Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature in 2018 approved the law to increase the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21 after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 students and faculty members at the Parkland school. Opponents of the bill Wednesday said family members of Parkland victims urged lawmakers to pass the higher minimum age. Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman, of Weston, who was a Broward County School Board member at the time of the mass shooting, urged House members to "continue to honor the promise to those families." "Every single time we do this, members, it reopens wounds you can't even imagine," Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas, said. But supporters of the bill said 18-year-olds can do such things as vote, join the military and serve on juries. They said 18-year-olds also should be able to buy guns. "To me, this is simply a matter of consistency," Republican Rep. Judson Sapp said. Federal law has long prevented people under 21 from buying handguns. While the Florida law bars purchases of rifles and other long guns, it allows people under 21 to receive guns, for example, as gifts from family members. Shortly after the Florida law passed in 2018, the National Rifle Association filed a federal lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month, in an 8-4 ruling, upheld the law . Opponents of the repeal bill Wednesday cited that ruling as they tried to counter arguments that the law violates the Second Amendment. Also, opponents cited research about brain development of young adults and their heightened involvement in shootings. "The science and the facts don't lie on this issue," Daley said. But supporters of the bill raised scenarios such as the law preventing young single mothers from buying guns to protect themselves. "To me, this bill is about the right to defend yourself, the right to keep and bear arms," bill sponsor Michelle Salzman said. Wednesday's vote was largely along party lines, with one Democrat, Jose Alvarez of Kissimmee, supporting the bill. Six Republicans voted against it, including Rep Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach, Rep. Chip LaMarca of Lighthouse Point and Rep. Vicki Lopez of Miami.