Howard Simon began his career fighting for voting rights, and he’ll end more than four decades of civil-rights advocacy championing the same issue.

Along the way, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has plagued the Republican-dominated Legislature and more than one GOP governor, emerging victorious in court battles involving abortion, gay adoption and drug testing of some of Florida’s neediest people, to name just a few issues.

Tallahassee touts, who’ve barely had time to get the pollen sprayed off their luxury SUVs since the Legislature folded up its tent three weeks ago, may want to bide their time before booking luxury vacations.

As the nation girds for marches this weekend led by kids demanding stricter gun regulations, the always-heated debate over firearms continued in the state Capitol.

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered eight Florida Highway Patrol troopers to beef up security at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where gunman Nikolas Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members and injured 17 others last month in one of the nation’s worst school shootings.

Gun owners have filed a second lawsuit against the state over gun-related provisions in a new school-safety law, this time alleging that a ban on “bump stocks” is an unconstitutional taking of property.

Senate President Joe Negron isn’t known for his wisecracks or snappy comebacks. The Stuart Republican, whose time leading the Senate will end after the November elections, instead has a reputation as a sometimes verbose --- by his own admission --- policy wonk with a methodical and deliberate approach to problem-solving as well as politics.

As Floridians continue to process the incomprehensible slaughter of 14 children and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, another catastrophe struck South Florida this week when a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Florida International University.

Flanked by the parents of Broward County teenagers slain in the nation’s second-worst school shooting, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed into law a sweeping package addressing mental health, school safety and guns.

Three weeks after Nikolas Cruz gunned down 14 students and three faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida lawmakers Wednesday passed a sweeping school-safety bill that sparked bipartisan and racial divisions over gun issues.

The House in a 67-50 vote approved the proposal (SB 7026), after the fathers of two slain students watched hours of floor debate from the House gallery. The Senate had earlier passed the measure, which now goes to Gov. Rick Scott.