2/21/2018

2A/CRISIS/GUNS/POLITICS: “High-school students who survived Florida’s deadly school shooting last week descended on the state capital Wednesday [2-21-18] to plead for stricter gun-control measures, raising pressure on lawmakers in the normally firearm-friendly state to pass legislation.
At a boisterous rally with hundreds of demonstrators outside the State Capitol, students took the microphone to decry elected officials’ inaction in the face of bloodshed… The eruption of student activism, including other rallies and walkouts across the state, has brought a new energy to the gun-rights debate in Florida and nationally, prodding GOP politicians who usually are staunch defenders of Second Amendment rights to consider legislative changes.
Yet political analysts question whether the passionate response will coalesce into a movement that can exert enduring pressure on officials… In Tallahassee, state elected officials have expressed openness to new gun restrictions, moderated their rhetoric and called for the tabling of a bill that would expand gun access. But the path to tighter gun rules has already faced obstacles. The Florida House voted Tuesday against debating a measure to ban outright semiautomatic weapons—something student activists are pushing… In the aftermath of the shooting, President Donald Trump and members of his administration have demonstrated an openness to new gun restrictions. Mr. Trump, in a directive Tuesday, asked the Justice Department to draft a federal regulation effectively banning bump stocks. While that accessory wasn’t used in last week’s Florida shooting, it was used in the Las Vegas gun massacre in October that stands as the deadliest in U.S. history.”

-Arian Campo-Flores and Michelle Hackman, “Parkland Students Protest in Tallahassee, Raising Political Pressure for Tougher Gun Laws,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 21, 2018 05:30pm