Florida GOP lawmakers look to broaden gun-carry zones

TALLAHASSEE | Florida Republicans are more determined than ever to pass bills expanding gun rights in the wake of the deadly Pulse nightclub and Fort Lauderdale airport shootings.

They say law-abiding gun owners should be allowed to take their weapons to airports, government meetings and state universities, and would be in a better position to protect themselves and others if a mass shooting should erupt in one of those places.

"Anytime you create a gun-free zone, you essentially are creating a safe haven for mass shooters and the criminal element and you put law-abiding people at a disadvantage," said Marion Hammer, who has lobbied for the National Rifle Association for more than 42 years.

About two dozen gun-related bills are filed ahead of next month's 60-day legislative session and the vast majority would expand gun rights so they can be carried, as one opponent said, "pretty much everywhere."

"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-chairwoman of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. "It's like bad gun bills on steroids."

While Democrats responded to the mass shootings by proposing more restrictions, including a ban on assault-style rifles and large capacity ammunition clips, they have virtually no chance of passing because Republicans dominate both legislative chambers.

Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando, whose bill would ban assault-like rifles, said expanding areas where guns can be carried isn't the right approach. "Their solution is, 'We want guns everywhere, all the time, by every person,' which is not going to address these problems. It's going to make them worse," he said.

Republican Rep. Jake Raburn of Valrico said many of this year's GOP proposals were easily approved in the House last year and will likely pass the chamber again this year. He said he sees a better chance that the Senate will pass gun-right expansions, especially since the chamber's top advocate, Sen. Greg Steube is chairman of the Judiciary Committee - the first stop for gun legislation.

Raburn is sponsoring the bill to allow guns at airports, an issue he proposed before the Fort Lauderdale shooting. He said hypothetical arguments against the idea just don't hold weight, such as police not knowing which person holding a gun is an active shooter and which is a permit holder defending himself.

"Florida is one of only six states that doesn't already allow that," he said. "We haven't seen any of these 'what if?' scenarios of law abiding permit holders being a problem in airports."