The night before the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass murders by former student Nikolaus Cruz, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran held a debate. Democrat Gillum is a current guberatorial candidate, Corcoran is expected to be one soon.
The debate stemmed from a controversial television ad depicting a man shooting a woman in cold blood.
In the ad, Corcoran leads viewers to believe the man was a criminal undocumented immigrant with darkened skin, and the woman was white. (Surprise, surprise)
Most people saw the ad as one big dog whistle toward undocumented black and brown people.
He distorts the details surrounding an incident that occurred in California resulting in the death of a young woman named Kate Steinle.
In that case, the immigrant was acquitted of murder charges stemming from Steinle’s death.
Corcoran introduced a Florida bill, House Bill 9, that would ban sanctuary cities in Florida. There are no sanctuary cities in florida currently. He claimed he was doing it for the “safety” of the citizens.
During one exchange in the debate, Gillum asked Corcoran if he was so concerned with the safety of the citizens, why wasn’t he standing up to the NRA and doing something about gun control.
Corcoran didn’t want to talk about it.
The next day, 17 People, mostly children, died at Douglas High School in Parkland.
They died as a result of gunshot wounds from an AR-15.
Maybe Richard Corcoran will talk about gun control now, but I doubt it.
Leslie Wimes, a Sunshine State News columnist, is founder and president of Women on the Move and the Democratic African American Women Caucus, www.daawc.com. Follow Leslie on Twitter: @womenonthemove1
