By Alan Ai '21
As a result of the recent Parkland shooting, the gun rights debate in Florida has escalated drastically to become the premier issue for both the left and the right. Nikolas Cruz’s usage of the semi-automatic AR-15 has caused the left to call for a hardline ban on all semi-automatic weapons, whereas many Republicans seem to be opening up to the idea of raising the legal age for purchasing a gun from 18 to 21, as well as banning bump stocks, which allow a semi-automatic rifle to function as an automatic rifle.
Although it would seem that such a disastrous, Columbine-like shooting would promptly serve as a spark toward pushing gun legislation, the hardline and uncompromising stance of the NRA has brought a third stance to the table. While Democrats are unwilling to settle for anything less than a full ban on semi-automatic weapons, as pushed by many Democratic senators from Florida, many Republicans, including Trump, have countered with softer limitations on gun possession; this has drawn the scorn of the NRA, along with the criticism of staunch conservatives who see the Republican position not as a compromise but as a secession to the left.
In Florida, it is becoming clearer that despite the Parkland incident’s galvanization of the 2nd Amendment debates, progress of Democrat-backed gun legislation will never advance without the support of Republicans, as the Republicans hold 23 seats in Florida’s State Senate out of a total of 40, while the Democrats only hold 15. Additionally, the Parkland shootings occurred in Broward County, which does not have a single Republican senator representing the area; as a result, the Democrats representing Broward simply maintain their position on gun control, and there are no Republicans in Broward to switch their allegiances on gun control as a result of the tragedy. In total, only two Republican senators actually voted against party lines, which was not enough to push through any gun legislation that was backed by the heavily united Democrats.
On the side of the Republicans, the internal conflicts of what to do with further gun legislation is also being jeopardized by Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, who has largely mirrored Trump’s stance on bump stock bans and the raising of the minimum purchasing age, while publicly stating that he would never support the arming of teachers. This is just one viewpoint of many among the right in Florida, with some throwing their support behind Scott, while others maintain the stance of the NRA that no action should be taken, along with a few voices supporting a compromise between the Republicans and the NRA, stating that non-instructional school personnel should be armed. As the debate rages on, the split between the Republicans and the NRA symbolizes that, although both will continue to unite against the Democrats’ proposal of banning semi-automatics, the right will not be able to push legislation either, as a result of a three-way split in viewpoints dragging out such conversations, combined with the pressure of the incoming midterm elections.
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