Latest news with #ParklandShooting
CBS News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Perjury charge dropped against ex-Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie
On the day jury selection was set to begin for his trial, a felony perjury charge against former Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie was dropped by the state attorney's office. Runcie was indicted in April 2021 for allegedly lying to a statewide grand jury that investigated events surrounding the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, which left 17 dead. The case against Runcie stemmed from questions over his management of a $1 billion bond issue that passed four years before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre. Runcie and other bond supporters had said its primary focus would be to improve school safety. But the grand jurors in their final report accused Runcie and school board members of making "uninformed or even misinformed decisions, incompetent management and lack of meaningful oversight" in the bond's implementation. Runcie accused of making false statements Prosecutors had contended that Runcie lied repeatedly to the grand jury when asked about the criminal case against his former technology chief, Tony Hunter. The grand jury indicted Hunter earlier in 2021 on charges he took a bribe from a vendor to rig a contract that came from the bond issue. Hunter pleaded not guilty. Last year, a judge dismissed Hunter's case on jurisdictional grounds. Prosecutors said Runcie told the grand jury he had not contacted anyone about the Hunter case and his only knowledge of the contract was from a presentation given years earlier. In fact, prosecutors said, Runcie had contacted others, including former procurement director Mary Coker, about the contract just days before he testified. In April, 2023, Circuit Judge Martin Fein dismissed the perjury charge, agreeing with defense attorneys that state law only gives it jurisdiction over crimes that occurred in multiple counties. Runcie only testified in one. His attorneys argued that if the statewide grand jury had evidence of Runcie committing perjury, it should have turned that over to the Broward County grand jury or the local state attorney's office for consideration. The state appealed and in October, 2024, three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned Fein's decision to dismiss the charge.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Citi Ends Gun-Sales Policy Implemented After Florida School Shooting
Citigroup Inc. ended a seven-year policy that placed restrictions on firearms sales by its retail sector clients, citing recent legislative developments and concerns over access to banking services. The bank will no longer have a specific firearms policy, it said in a statement on its website. Citigroup had implemented the policy in 2018, following a major school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
CBS News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Parkland families push back as NRA asks Supreme Court to strike down Florida gun law
Families of Parkland shooting victims are speaking out against the National Rifle Association's push to overturn a Florida law that raised the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21, a measure enacted after the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The NRA is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the law, drawing fierce criticism from those still grieving the loss of loved ones. A law born from tragedy Debbie Hixon's husband, Chris Hixon, was one of 17 people killed in the Parkland shooting. He died trying to disarm the gunman. "He ran into the building to try and disarm the shooter," Hixon recalled. In the wake of the shooting, Florida legislators responded by raising the legal age to purchase firearms. That law, passed with bipartisan support, has faced repeated challenges since - primarily backed by the NRA. NRA argues for adult gun rights The NRA contends that the law violates the constitutional rights of 18- to 20-year-olds. In a statement to CBS News Miami, John Commerford of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action said: "Americans 18 years of age and older are considered adults who can vote, enter into contracts, marry, and enlist and fight for our country. Those same adults are also guaranteed the right to defend themselves through the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution." The group has appealed to the Supreme Court, citing conflicting rulings in lower courts over similar age-based firearm restrictions. A mother's frustration and hope for finality Hixon, who has advocated for gun safety legislation since her husband's death, expressed frustration that the law continues to face legal and political challenges - despite its public support and connection to one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. "There's no line of 18-year-olds that are demanding this right. There's just none," she said. "I've been to a number of the sessions and sat in there. There's two older gentlemen that are from the NRA that complain about it, but there's no 18-year-olds that are demanding this opportunity." For three consecutive years, Florida lawmakers in the state House have voted to repeal the law, but each time, the measure has stalled in the Senate. Hixon hopes a final ruling from the nation's highest court will settle the issue once and for all. "If the Supreme Court says that the law is constitutional and they'll uphold the law, then we won't have to hear about it again," she said. "It would be really nice not to have it come back again."
