'Nothing’s off the table,’ Florida senator says on potential gun reforms
Tampa Bay Times
The Buzz - 8/6/2019
The Florida state senator tasked with responding to the latest spate of mass shootings said Tuesday that “nothing’s off the table” for the upcoming legislative session. That means mental health. White nationalism. And, yes, guns.
“We don’t have any preconceived ideas,” said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa. “Nothing’s off the table, and nothing’s on the table.” As the nation reels from another series of mass shootings over the weekend, attention in Florida has turned to what lawmakers in Tallahassee are doing about it. Neither Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker José Oliva have proposed any action. But on Monday, Senate President Bill Galvano asked Lee to come up with potential responses to the shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio On Tuesday, Lee said he was still trying to wrap his head around the task. “How we come up with policies to fix the problems in the American psyche I don’t know, but we’ll make a run at it,” Lee said. He said Galvano didn’t assign him anything in particular to look at — or not look at. In fact, he hadn’t even spoken to the Senate president before Galvano sent a memo announcing Lee’s assignment, Lee said. (Lee said he wasn’t able to return Galvano’s call before the afternoon announcement.) “Unfortunately, the evil acts of violence over the weekend are an all-too-present reminder that we have work to do,” Galvano wrote. Galvano in particular mentioned school safety and white nationalism as two areas of concern. Source
Florida’s Senate president vows to tackle mass shootings, white nationalism
The House isn’t expected to engage in a similar review before the January start of the 2020 session.
... Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, on Monday directed Senate Infrastructure and Security Chairman Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, to lead efforts to determine if any further action is needed after laws were enacted in the wake of the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. ...