Latest news with #SenateBill814
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congressman questions whether state bill could've changed outcome at FSU
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Rep. Randy Fine, who was recently elected to Congress, is revisiting a discussion about guns on college campuses, following Thursday's deadly mass shooting at Florida State University. Fine served as a state senator in Tallahassee before voters sent him to Washington, D.C. He filed Senate Bill 814 to allow students to carry concealed firearms on campus. 2 food service employees killed in FSU shooting During a Senate hearing regarding that bill, the then-senator made a plea for lawmakers to approve the measure so it could move to the Senate floor. He told them he filed the bill after he felt Jewish college students were being mistreated during pro-Israel protests. 'I made a decision at that point that if schools would not protect these children, then I would make sure that they could protect themselves,' Fine said. The lawmaker had more to add in his attempt to gain support for his bill. 'There is no magic force field that keeps guns from coming onto our college campuses. There is not one,' Fine said. 'There are guns on college campuses right now; lots of them. They are just being carried by the people who don't follow the rules.' All 6 injured victims expected to make full recoveries following deadly FSU mass shooting Senate democrats on the Criminal Justice Committee pushed back. Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo spoke out against the measure. 'If there was a bill that spoke to much more funding for security, armed security for the protection of students, I would be all for it,' Pizzo said. Pizzo represents voters near the Miami-Dade and Broward County line, and there's discussion that he may run for governor. 'My other son is entering college this fall, and I don't trust his peers, his classmates, to have a gun in their dorm room. I just don't,' Pizzo said. One of Fine's final bills in the Florida legislature failed to move forward after a 4-3 vote. Who is FSU shooter Phoenix Ikner, stepson of Florida deputy? Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia, out of Miami, joined democrats to vote no. Garcia recently posted on X, part: 'I have zero regret. Proud to have voted against your moronic campus carry bill, that didn't have a house companion. This decision wasn't about partisan politics; it was rooted in common sense.' Fine posted on X by calling Garcia a 'so-called republican.' Last month, a bill to lower the age to buy a firearm from 21 to 18 passed the state house. So far, it's unclear if its companion, Senate Bill 920, will make it onto the floor for a vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is the fight over? Florida bill to allow guns on campus gets shot down
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A rare rejection happened at the state capitol as a Republican-led bill was voted down by a fellow GOP lawmaker. Senate Bill 814 would have allowed concealed carry on college campuses, but it died in its first committee stop. The bill was defeated after two Republicans failed to be in the room to vote on the matter, and while it's unclear what the final outcome would have been if they showed up to committee, it is likely the bill could be refiled in future sessions just like similar bills have been in previous years. Florida House proposes largest sales tax cut in state history Leading the legislation, State Senator Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach) says the 2nd Amendment does not take the semester off. 'You have the right to defend yourself, and that right doesn't go away because you walked onto a college campus,' Fine said. While those in opposition argue that it is a risky move.'What is already a high stress environment for young people on college campuses, where they're facing academic pressures; where there's mental health struggles; where there's social conflicts; where there's rampant alcohol and drug use; and abuse and sexual assault; and add firearms to the equation here,' said State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando). Senate Bill 814 was expected to pass its first committee stop and inspired the bill sponsor to push for change after college students faced threats on campuses following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which led Democrats to understand and sympathize with the motivation behind the bill.'I am for one, completely intolerant of it. So, if there was a bill that spoke to much more funding for security, armed security for the protection of students, I would be all for it,' said State Senator Jason Pizzo (D- Sunny Isles Beach). But after heated debate, the bill was voted down with 3 yays and 4 nays. 'If schools would not protect these children, then I would make sure that they could protect themselves,' Fine said. 'I just don't trust those kids with guns. That's where I am. But some of the behavior I've seen over the last year, I would shoot somebody if my kid was held hostage like that, I absolutely would,' Pizzo said. News Channel 8 On Your Side reached out to the bill sponsor's team and with no further plans from Senator Fine to change the bill language or further act on the legislation, its likely to remain untouched for this session. The House companion bill was withdrawn by former State Representative Joel Rudman, who resigned in January. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
