Guns Kill? After Orlando Shooting, Florida Republicans Want More Firearms

In the aftermath of the deadly Orlando nightclub and Fort Lauderdale airport shootings, two Republican lawmakers in Florida are pushing to eradicate the Sunshine State’s “gun-free zones” in a move that would put more guns in public areas. Sen. Dennis Baxley, of Ocala, and Rep. Don Hahnfeldt, of The Villages, want to allow people with concealed weapon permits to carry a deadly firearm nearly anywhere, including local bars, voting booths, courthouses, public schools, colleges and university campuses, airport passenger terminals and maybe even a Miami Dolphins game.

More than a dozen gun-related bills, including Democratic proposals for bans on assault-style rifles and large capacity ammunition clips, have been filed before the start of Florida's 60-day legislative session that begins on March 7, according to the Associated Press. But Baxley and Hahnfeldt want to expand gun access, not limit it.

“(The proposal) tests the appetite for legislators to eliminate the illusion called gun-free zones…perpetrators of violence do not care what your rules are and are armed…this bill eliminates the sterile target we have created with noble intentions,” Baxley told the Miami Herald.

Hahnfeldt said only federal restrictions on carrying guns and private property-owners could impose “gun-free zones.” “Gun-free zones have been a failure…businesses more susceptible to harm and damage by an ill-intended perpetrator. This (proposed gun law proposal) gives these businesses and institutions an opportunity to better protect themselves, their place of business, their employees and their guests in the event of an unfortunate incident…so that maybe the next Pulse, the next Fort Lauderdale ... may not happen,” Hahnfeldt said.

Florida is not new to gun rights debates. The deadly shooting at the Fort Lauderdale airport on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2017 happened a day after a new gun control bill was introduced that sought a ban on assault rifles and ammunition in response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 people dead in June.

"If it's a reaction to the Pulse shooting and Fort Lauderdale, it's a very odd reaction," said Patti Brigham, a vice president at the League of Women Voters of Florida and co-chair of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. "It's like bad gun bills on steroids.