Gabby Giffords, former congresswoman and assassination attempt survivor, visits Parkland to condemn permitless gun carry – Orlando Sentinel

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Second Amendment

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Frustration and disgust permeated the air inside the Gina Montalto wing of the Parkland Library on Saturday afternoon, as former congresswoman Gabby Giffords joined Parkland families and South Florida Democrats in denouncing legislation that may soon reverse some of the gun control efforts they made after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas five years ago.

“I wish we weren’t here to talk about another disastrous proposal to take us back,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was instrumental in the passing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act which put several gun control measures in place after the shooting. “They don’t even believe it’s good policy. It’s really about politics, it’s not about policy.”

He was referring to the proposed bill that is headed to the Senate floor this week and would allow Floridians to carry guns in public without permits, while another would reverse the MSD Act’s raising of the minimum age to buy long guns from 18 to 21.

[ RELATED: Parkland families, South Florida leaders warn permitless gun carry would jeopardize public safety ]

The age restriction would have made it illegal for the 19-year old Parkland shooter to purchase the semi-automatic rifle he used to kill 17 people. On Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld the law.

[ RELATED: Florida lawmakers want to drop rifle-buying age from 21 to 18, a change made after Parkland mass shooting ]

Supporters of permitless carry, which they call “constitutional carry,” argue that it will protect Floridians’ Second Amendment rights.

“Central to the idea of freedom is the right that we can defend ourselves against physical attack, as well as defend those that we love,” said House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.

But critics of the bill Saturday did not think it would protect the lives of their loved ones.

Giffords and fellow Democrats urged voters to speak out against the legislation and appeal to the conscience of their representatives to get them to oppose it.

Giffords represented Arizona’s 8th district in the U.S House of Representatives. At the beginning of her third term in 2011, she was severely injured when a gunman attempted to assassinate her in a shooting rampage, killing six people. After the shooting, Giffords resigned from Congress and devoted her career to gun control advocacy.

“Words once came easily. Today I struggle, but I have not lost my voice,” said Giffords, who has aphasia that makes it difficult to speak. “America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words.”

She sat at the front of a small room tucked away in the children’s wing of the library, named the Gina Montalto wing for the 14-year old student killed in the shooting. Gina Montalto’s father, Tony Montalto, sat in the front with her, as did Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was also killed in the shooting.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords comforts Anthony Montalto (father of Gina Montalto) after he gave an impassioned speech at the Parkland Library in the Gina Montalto wing on Saturday, March 11, 2023, against the permitless carry legislation being proposed in the state. Fve years after the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Governor DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill that would allow almost anyone to carry a gun in public without a background check or training. Even more egregious, Florida legislators introduced a bill this week that would undo one of the laws passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting and would lower the age to buy long guns back to 18 years old.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords comforts Anthony Montalto (father of Gina Montalto) after he gave an impassioned speech at the Parkland Library in the Gina Montalto wing on Saturday, March 11, 2023, against the permitless carry legislation being proposed in the state. Fve years after the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Governor DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill that would allow almost anyone to carry a gun in public without a background check or training. Even more egregious, Florida legislators introduced a bill this week that would undo one of the laws passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting and would lower the age to buy long guns back to 18 years old. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Other members of Parkland families, including Debbi Hixon and Annika and Mitchell Dworet, watched from the audience.

Many of the Parkland families, like Giffords, turned to gun control advocacy after the trauma they experienced. For some, it was a way to honor those they lost. The proposed legislation threatens to undo that.

“Their legacy … has been school safety,” Montalto said in a speech Saturday. “I fear the current bill will retract some of that.”

[ RELATED: Jurors get first glimpse at AR-15-style rifle used to kill 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas ]

The permitless carry measures are also wrapped up in the same bill as several school safety measures, something that State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, the former mayor of Parkland, finds “insulting.”

“To now have a permitless carry law attached to a school safety law is gross,” she said in a speech Saturday. “And it’s personal.”

Democrats urged Floridians to talk to their representatives, as well as their own friends and family members, in an effort to drum up opposition to the bill that many believe is already a done deal.

The legislation is likely to pass due to the supermajority of Republicans in the state House and Senate, but it is less popular with the public.

A majority of Floridians, about 8 out of 10, oppose permitless carry, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, including 62 percent of Republicans.

She attributed its success to the interests of powerful groups like the National Rifle Association.

“Why would Florida Republicans do something so dangerous and downright stupid?” Wasserman Schultz asked. “Because the NRA wants it.”

Manuel Oliver was not convinced by the speeches before his own. He wanted to see more action.

“I’d like to say we need a plan and I want to hear you letting me know what’s your plan,” he said at the lectern, turning to the representatives. “Insane decisions require insane responses…I won’t wait for next year to vote for the Democratic Party to solve this problem.”

Manny Oliver (father of Joaquin Oliver) speaks at the Parkland Library in the Gina Montalto wing on Saturday, March 11, 2023, against the permitless carry legislation being proposed in the state. Five years after the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Governor DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill that would allow almost anyone to carry a gun in public without a background check or training. Even more egregious, Florida legislators introduced a bill this week that would undo one of the laws passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting and would lower the age to buy long guns back to 18 years old.

Manny Oliver (father of Joaquin Oliver) speaks at the Parkland Library in the Gina Montalto wing on Saturday, March 11, 2023, against the permitless carry legislation being proposed in the state. Five years after the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Governor DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill that would allow almost anyone to carry a gun in public without a background check or training. Even more egregious, Florida legislators introduced a bill this week that would undo one of the laws passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting and would lower the age to buy long guns back to 18 years old. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

When asked how she felt about Oliver’s speech, Wasserman Schultz said, “I think he’s right.”

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If people want to stop the bill, she said, “there has to be unmitigated protests, calls, demonstrations.”

If Democrats succeed in turning eight Senate Republicans against the permitless carry bill, they can stop it from passing, according to State Senator Tina Polsky. She wasn’t optimistic, but she didn’t want to rule it out.

“Once in a while, something bad dies,” she said.

Back in 2018, the MSD Safety Bill was an example of successful bipartisan legislation, multiple speakers recalled on Saturday. Republicans who voted for the bill were reelected, Moskowitz told the Sun Sentinel in January. Some of the same Republicans will be voting on the new legislation.

“There are people out there that still remember what happened here,” Moskowitz said Saturday. “We have to appeal to them that they did the right thing after the shooting at Douglas.”

Information from the South Florida Sun Sentinel archives was used in this report.

Staff writer Shira Moolten can be reached at smoolten@SunSentinel.com

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