TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Could new gun restrictions lie ahead for Florida? A Senate committee may shed light on that, next week.
Senators in the Infrastructure and Safety Committee are set to discuss mass shootings and targeted violence during a meeting on Monday afternoon.
Senate President Bill Galvano (R. - 21) called for the meet, asking in a memo last month that lawmakers review state policies and see if improvements could be made following the recent deadly shootings in Texas and Ohio.
"Such a review will help us determine what further actions can be taken at the state level that will build on the legislation we passed in 2018 and 2019," Galvano said in the memo. "We will also monitor any potential actions taken by the federal government in the coming months, which could impact our decisions and options at the state level."
The meeting's agenda has senators listening to law enforcement, mental health specialists and researchers for up to four hours.
The committee's chair, Sen. Tom Lee (R-20), said new gun policy is a possibility.
“Everything is on the table for consideration," Lee said. "We’re not foreclosing any of those options."
Floridians from the state’s chapter of Moms Demand Action also plan to be at the meeting. They hoped to deliver hundreds of letters to the committee in an attempt to spur further gun reform legislation for the upcoming session. Stringent background checks for those buying any kind of firearm was a major goal.
Kate Kile, a spokesperson for the Tallahassee branch of the national group, said recent reform's like Florida's red flag law had members hopeful lawmakers on the left and right were finally listening to concerns and acting.
“We applaud that," she said. "It was a bipartisan effort. That is the kind of change we’re seeking. We want to build on it.”
