On February 21, 2018, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School traveled to the state capitol in Tallahassee, Florida demanding action on guns.
The legislative session began with a prayer for the victims and survivors of the shooting. This should have served as foreshadowing of what was to happen.
Rep. Kionne McGhee, a Democrat, introduced a bill to ban assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines. The bill was brought to the floor for debate on Wednesday.
However, by a vote of 71-36, legislators voted not to debate the bill and it wasn't considered. So, even though there was a majority who would vote the bill down, those opposed to the bill didn't want to risk a public debate on the merits of it. And they had the gall to do it when the students who survived the shooting were in attendance.
But, not to despair, the legislature did vote for a bill to declare pornography a public health risk.
That's Florida for you. Where boobies are bad but guns are good. In other words, in Florida, the 2nd Amendment trumps all.
Every time I see or hear the term "assault rifle" or "assault weapon" I beg the speaker or writer to describe what one actually is. The short answer is that there is no such thing as an "assault rifle / weapon". There are semi-automatic rifles capable of firing one bullet with every squeeze of the trigger. Aesthetics is the only difference between a .243 Winchester rifle and an AR-15 rifle.
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