Gun bill passes Florida House, heads to Gov. Scott's desk
On Wednesday, the Florida House passed the state's first gun restrictions in three decades, voting 67-50 after debating for nearly eight hours.
Under the bill, which cleared the Senate 20-18 earlier this week, a person must be at least 21 years old to buy a gun and wait three days before obtaining the weapon. The bill also would set aside $400 million for mental health and school safety, and would create a program that allows certain trained school personnel to carry guns.
The vote took place exactly three weeks after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland. Gov. Rick Scott (R) has not indicated if he will sign or veto the bill, but has said he is opposed to arming school personnel and wants to speak with the families of Parkland victims and survivors to hear their thoughts on the matter. All 17 families who lost a loved one in the massacre signed a letter calling for passage of the bill, The Miami Herald reports.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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