Gun-control advocates push for tougher laws

[HAB911]

TALLAHASSEE — Since the summer shooting that devastated Latin night at Pulse, an Orlando gay nightclub, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith has worn a rainbow-patterned ribbon on his lapel.

It's a physical reminder of 49 lives lost seven months ago in the worst mass shooting this country has seen, an event that led Smith, who is gay and Latino, to focus on gun control in his first campaign for the Florida House of Representatives.

"I see a Florida, a safer Florida, where there are fewer guns because only the more responsible, law-abiding gun owners are allowed to possess those weapons and they can only possess certain kinds of weapons to protect themselves," said Smith, a Democrat whose district is just five miles from Pulse.

Gun-control supporters — mostly Democrats — don't have much clout in the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. Still, they're pushing new restrictions they say will make it harder for potentially dangerous people to obtain firearms.

They are quick to say they don't want to take away people's guns. But they do want an end to what Dania Beach Democratic Rep. Evan Jenne calls a "swiss cheese" approach to gun regulations.

Legislation they are proposing this year would:

• Ban assault rifles like the Sig Sauer MCX, which was used to kill 49 people at Pulse, and high-capacity magazines that carry more than seven rounds of ammunition. Assault weapons are "only there to kill others," said Jenne.

• Require background checks for all gun purchases, closing loopholes that allow people to buy firearms at gun shows and from another individual without having their personal history reviewed. Researchers believe as many as 22 percent of gun owners obtain their weapons without a background check.

• Tighten a law mandating that loaded guns be kept in locked storage when they are near children 16 and younger.

• Block people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns, which Democrats tried and failed to do after the Pulse shooting last summer and which leaders say is likely to come back in some form during the legislative session that begins March 7.

Lawmakers also say they want stricter requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit, as well, though they have not proposed legislation to do so. Right now, permit holders have to be 21 years old, pass a gun safety course and pay a $102 fee.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/how-to-end-gun-violence-florida-gun-control-advocates-push-for-tougher-laws/2309467