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Recent Florida Shootings May Boost NRA-Backed Bills

Marion Hammer’s phone rang as news bulletins reported that five tourists were shot to death at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Marion Hammer’s phone rang as news bulletins reported that five tourists were shot to death at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

 

The longtime Florida gun lobbyist said a friend told her that the Jan. 6 shootings probably ended any chance of the Legislature’s passing a law to allow licensed gun owners to carry weapons in airport common areas.

 

But Hammer said the shooting helped her cause, proving that more guns in places like airports were needed.

That rationale will find a lot of support from Republican legislators in the 2017 session.

Hammer has a powerful ally in House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, who said gun-free zones that leave people defenseless are dangerous.

 

“If law-abiding citizens could carry a gun to a baggage claim,” Corcoran said, “I think you’re going to see gun violence rapidly decline. So why don’t we do that for a change? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

 

The National Rifle Association has tried for years, without success, to eliminate gun-free zones at schools, colleges campuses and common areas of airports. Those proposals failed last year but will be back in March, despite opposition from airport directors and sheriffs across the state.

 

The gun lobby and the Legislature have been allies for a long time, and no level of gun violence in the state appears likely to affect their relationship.

 

The Republicans’ dominance of state politics, now entering its third decade, has helped the NRA tighten its grip on a Legislature where the organization’s A-plus rating is coveted by candidates. The rating is political insurance for Republicans who fear being challenged from the right on issues of gun rights.

 

Other factors working to the NRA’s benefit are Florida’s rural pro-gun heritage; the growing popularity of concealed weapon licenses, now held by nearly 1 in 10 residents; and a lack of two-party competition in legislative elections. Districts drawn to favor the party in power have left Democratic legislators clustered mostly in major cities and almost invisible elsewhere.

 

Gov. Rick Scott, who opposes new gun restrictions, repeatedly cites the drop in violent crime as proof that existing laws are effective.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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