A bill to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry firearms on public college and university campuses made its way through the Florida House Wednesday, passing by a vote of 80-37.
The bill, HB 4001, sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, would allow concealed weapons permit holders 21 or older to carry firearms on college campuses.
Steube’s legislation has been one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation moving through the Capitol during this session, pitting pro-gun groups against gun safety groups and university law enforcement officers who say the measure would make college campuses more dangerous.
House members debated for hours over the bill.
The National Rifle Association has been a strong backer of the proposal, with representatives appearing at every committee meeting to discuss why the bill needed to pass. Some student groups, like Students for Concealed Carry, have actively supported the legislation, saying it allowed students to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Democrats opposed to the bill warned it would be a bad idea since colleges are already high-stress environments where students party and undergo significant amounts of stress.
"We need to do the responsible thing and protect every student at the school,” said Rep. Barbara Watson, D-Miami Gardens. “We need to say books and guns don't mix."
Other Democrats said the repercussions of the legislation were frightening.
"For me, [the bill] frightens me on a level that I haven't felt with other legislation,” said Rep. David Kerner, D-Lake Worth.
Not all Democrats were against the legislation. Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasalinda, D-Tallahassee, said opponents to the bill had lost sight of how difficult it really was to get a hold of a concealed weapons permit.
“Some of the argument that's been going on in this chamber has completely ignored what it takes to get a concealed carry permit,” she said on the House floor.
Currently, Florida public universities are “gun-free zones” where firearms are not allowed.
But some Republicans disagreed that colleges were truly gun-free, saying those areas simply don’t exist.
"Gun free zones do not exist,” said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala. “Get over your paradigm...criminals don't care what your rules are."
Campus carry has been fiercely opposed by state universities, who said the provision would be costly to state colleges. Some state universities have said they would have to spend millions of extra dollars to hire extra law enforcement officers as well as create storage areas for students to keep their guns.
Despite the bill's victory in the House, it’s highly unlikely it will become law, at least during this year’s legislative session. The Senate companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, was killed off by Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, who refused to hear the legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Gun rights groups have said they would push to bring the legislation back next year.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
