Floridians would be able to carry guns without concealed-weapons licenses under a bill the House passed on Friday.
House Bill 543 says people need to have a valid ID with them when in possession of a gun. But they only have to display their ID if an officer asks them to.
Representative Dan Daley is an alum of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — the setting of one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.
Like many Democrats, Daley said he supports the Second Amendment, but stressed that isn’t what this bill is about.
“Nobody, I don’t think anybody in this room, is coming for your guns,” Daley said. “But we’re asking for reasonable and responsible gun ownership. And that’s not something that this bill supports.”
Despite emotional pleas from Democrats, Republicans like Representative John Snyder said proper gun training and permits will not decrease gun violence.
However, according to a 2022 study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, firearm assaults increase in states that relax firearm permit restrictions.
Snyder said this bill would allow Floridians to protect themselves without permission from the government.
“I trust the people of the great state of Florida a whole lot more than I trust the government,” Snyder said.
The bill will now move forward to the Senate to be debated and voted on.
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