Gun Control Bill Passes in Florida
The legislation is now headed to Gov. Rick Scott's desk for a signature. Here's what it will change for Florida residents if it becomes law.
UPDATE: On March 9, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed this bill into law.
A package of anti-gun legislation has passed in the Florida legislature and is headed to Gov. Rick Scott for a signature before becoming law.
If Scott signs the bill, it will:
Raise the age to purchase any firearm in the state to 21
Require a three-day waiting period for all firearm purchases (with some exemptions)
Ban the sale or possession of bump-fire stocks
Give law enforcement more authority to seize weapons and ammunition from those deemed mentally unfit or otherwise a threat;
Provide additional funding for armed school resource officers and mental health services; and
Enact the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, which would allow some teachers to be armed if both the local school district and local sheriff’s department agree.
That last bit was named after the coach who was killed shielding students with his own by during the Parkside, Florida school shooting.
This story from cnn.com says that it also comes with some limiting caveats.
Teachers who “exclusively perform classroom duties as classroom teachers” won’t be allowed to carry guns on campus, unless they have military or law enforcement experience or if they teach a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.
The program is voluntary and any qualified staff members who want to carry a gun must take 144 hours of training.
