State lawmakers are loading up another series of gun bills to shoot through the Florida Legislature for the 2017 legislative session, setting the showdown for another round of intense debate over gun control in the Sunshine State.
The Florida Senate will be the primary battleground for most of this year’s gun-related bills, since the majority of the proposals are being pushed by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota.
Conservatives, who hold a majority in both the House and the Senate, have hopped onboard with the proposals this year.
“Why don’t we just say in certain situations, let’s try it. Let’s just try something different for a while, let law-abiding citizens exercise their Second Amendment right,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, said on the bills. “I support it all. Until someone can show me one stinking fact, statistic that says this is worse than the current situation, I absolutely am supportive of it.”
Nearly 40 Second Amendment-related bills are making their way through the legislature this year. Here are some of the top gun bills lawmakers will duke out during the 2017 legislative session:
Lawmakers Reload "Stand Your Ground" Burden of Proof Bill
Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law has made headlines once more as state lawmakers attempt to shift the burden of proof in cases invoking the defense claim.
If passed, the bill, SB 128, sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, would give defendants more protection from prosecution in “Stand Your Ground” cases by requiring prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” whether a defendant is entitled to immunity at a pretrial hearing in order to disprove a claim of self-defense immunity.
The legislation would flip the responsibility onto the prosecutor to prove why a defendant shouldn’t be allowed to use the Stand Your Ground defense in court.
The House measure, HB 245, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, only has one more committee to go until it heads to the full House floor.
The legislation has significant support from pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association, which say the bill was vital for gun owners who may use their weapons to protect themselves in potentially harmful situations. Critics of the bill disagree.
Campus Carry Makes a Comeback
One of the most controversial measures making its way through the legislature this year is HB 6005, which would allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry their firearms openly on college and university campuses in Florida.
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, said safety, preventing gun violence and protecting Second Amendment rights were the driving factors behind filing the bill.
“The default position should be that these fundamental rights should be maintained, and if they need to be limited in any way, there must be an overwhelmingly compelling reason,” Plakon wrote in an op-ed earlier this year. “None exists here.”
State universities and colleges have strongly opposed the legislation, which has come up for three years straight in the state legislature.
Guns in Airports? Let's Do It, Say Lawmakers
Sen. Steube is also putting his weight behind a bill to allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry their firearms in airport terminals. The legislation, SB 618/HB 6001, sponsored by Steube and Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Lithia, has been filed in Tallahassee before but was bolstered by the events of the Fort Lauderdale Airport mass shooting.
The bills would eliminate some “gun-free zones” in airport terminals, which currently do not allow guns.
Steube has railed against “gun-free zones” in recent months, slamming them for being ineffective since mass shootings are still taking place where guns are not allowed.
The legislative session begins Tuesday.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
