TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Less than a week after a gunman opened fire on the campus of Florida State University, killing two and injuring six others, students from the university called on Florida lawmakers to enact stronger gun safety reforms in the State Capitol on Tuesday.
The suspect accused of carrying out the mass shooting is only 20 years old, and police have said he used a pistol belonging to his mother during the attack.
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While Florida law prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from buying a firearm, the state’s safe storage laws only applies when a minor under the age of 16 is in a household.
Katie Hathaway with the Jacksonville Chapter of Moms Demand Action argued those two laws should be aligned.
Read: Questions emerge about how a deputy’s stepson became the accused gunman in deadly FSU shooting
“These are easy steps our lawmakers could be taking to save lives,” Hathaway said.
Tougher safe storage laws were among several gun safety reforms survivors of the FSU massacre and Democratic lawmakers called for during their Tuesday press conference.
“In a country where gun violence is one of the leading causes of death of Americans, particularly for our young people, surely we can start at the common ground, common sense solutions and move forward there,” House Minority Leader State Representative Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) said.
Read: Questions emerge about how a deputy’s stepson became the accused gunman in deadly FSU shooting
They also want to mandate locks on all doors in schools, after some students had to barricade themselves in classrooms during last week’s lockdown.
Additionally, the students want school personnel to undergo active shooter training and called for more campus mental health funding.
“There is no reason why our doors do not lock and why our professors do not know how to respond when there is someone with a gun less than 100 feet away,” FSU freshman Madalyn Probst said.
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This year, bills addressing safe storage, expanded background checks, and other gun safety reforms went unheard.
Meanwhile, for the third year in a row, the House passed legislation that would roll back the age to purchase long guns to 18.
Despite the fact the House approved the bill rolling back the age to purchase long guns, the Senate hasn’t heard it at all and a bill that would have allowed concealed carry on school grounds was voted down in a Senate committee.
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Given the tragedy that unfolded just down the street from the Capitol building, Hathaway said she believes there is hope lawmakers will, at the very least, not have the stomach to roll back existing gun laws this year.
“The tragedy at Florida State last week exemplifies why our lawmakers need to listen to their constituents and do the right thing and stop pushing forward dangerous and reckless legislation like that,” Hathaway said.
A march is planned from FSU to the State Capitol Wednesday, but given there’s less than two weeks left in session, there appears to be little chance the legislature passes any gun bills this session.
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