Tallahassee, Fla. — Following this week’s mass shooting in Orange County and just days before the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Attack, gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham is proposing new gun safety measures for the state of Florida.
“I believe we can live in a Florida with fewer gun deaths. I believe in a Florida that’s free from mass shootings. I believe in a Florida where we all feel safe, regardless of our gender, sexual orientation, religion, the color of our skin or place of birth. I believe in that Florida,” Graham said. “But to build that safer Florida, to save lives, we must act. We must pass common sense gun safety laws.”
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- Comprehensive universal background checks on all gun sales to stop criminals and terrorists from purchasing guns
- A ban on large-capacity feeding devices to stop high-fatality mass shootings
- Require abusers to surrender firearms when a protective order is issued against them to protect victims of violence.
- Invest in mental health and give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent those with serious mental illness from purchasing or keeping firearms
“A year after the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history — after the murder of 49 young people — Governor Rick Scott and the legislature haven’t done a thing to curb gun violence in our state. Instead, after every shooting, Republicans respond ‘guns, guns, guns — we need more guns,’” Graham said. “Florida’s governor and legislature could act today to stem the epidemic of gun deaths our state faces if they just had the political courage.”
Expecting to be attacked by the NRA, Graham preempted their stale arguments:.
“I won’t let extremists groups from Washington turn this into a Second Amendment vs. gun control debate. My husband has spent his life in law enforcement and carries a gun. I respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners. This is about common sense, constitutional solutions to save lives,” Graham said. “There is no silver bullet to stop all violence and gun crimes, but I’ve heard from sheriffs and law enforcement across our state pleading for us to try. When I’m governor, we will work to reduce violence and crime in Florida.”
Following the attack at Pulse, last year, Gwen joined John Lewis and congressional Democrats in the sit-in to demand greater gun safety. In a speech to the Orange County DEC the following week, Graham proposed limiting ammunition and implementing universal background checks. She co-sponsored legislation to implement universal background checks and to prevent individuals on the terrorist watch list from purchasing guns. After January’s mass shooting at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport, Graham called for greater mental health reforms and investments in an op-ed. She also took a stand against allowing guns on college campuses.
