Another legislative session is almost over in Florida and like many years before, gun issues continue to remain a hot topic in Tallahassee.
Here’s the current state of Florida’s gun bills for the 2016 legislative session:
HB 4001: Campus carry was one of this year’s bill proposals which gathered some of the most spirited debate and testimony from pro-gun advocates and gun control groups alike. Sponsored by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota in the House and by Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, in the Senate, the legislation would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms on public colleges and university campuses.
The bill was strongly supported by the National Rifle Association and by many Republicans, who said the bill would be a good protective measure for college students to defend themselves against potential sexual assaults.
The bill sailed through the Florida House, where it was debated and passed in February. The bill didn’t have quite as much success in the Senate, though -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, refused to hear the bill for its final hearing, and thus the bill was killed off.
HB 163: This bill, sponsored by the father-son duo of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, would have allowed concealed weapons permit holders to openly carry their firearms around the state.
Those opposed to the law said it was a bad idea for Florida since the state relies so heavily on tourism to boost its economy. Some law enforcement groups and city mayors around the state voiced similar concerns over the legislation, saying it would make law enforcement officers' jobs more difficult and would be bad for some of the state’s thriving areas like the Tampa Bay region.
The bill passed through the Florida House but was killed off in conjunction with the campus carry bill by Sen. Diaz de la Portilla.
Florida would have become the 46th state in the nation to allow concealed carry permit holders to openly carry their firearms if the legislation had passed. Gun groups have promised they’ll be bringing the legislation back next year.
SB 344: Called the “Burden of Proof” bill, this legislation would alter the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground cases.
The bill would shift the “burden of proof” for Stand Your Ground cases, giving defendants more protection from prosecution 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.
Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, the bill’s sponsor, said he introduced the bill after a recent ruling from the Florida Supreme Court this summer which said defendants would be responsible for the burden of proof showing they shouldn’t be prosecuted in Stand Your Ground cases.
While that bill was seemingly extinguished in the House in the fall when it stalled out on a tie vote, the bill was reignited in the Senate, where gun advocates said it could receive a second life. However, the bill’s future doesn’t look too bright now, since House Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, has seemingly shelved the bill and is refusing to hear it in another committee.
The National Rifle Association was particularly upset over McBurney’s refusal to hear the legislation.
“Chairman McBurney is putting his self-interest above your self-defense rights and your right to the presumption of innocence. By refusing to give this bill a hearing, he is ignoring the basic doctrine that a person charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty,” wrote NRA past president and lobbyist Marion Hammer.
