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Florida governor signs ‘school safety’ gun bill into law

The bill allows teachers to undergo training to carry handguns.

Photo of Kris Seavers

Kris Seavers

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a 'school safety' gun bill into law.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed the first gun control bill to pass in the state since the high school shooting in Parkland that left 17 people dead on Valentine’s Day.

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Senate Bill 7026, also called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, raises the required age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21 and bans the sale and possession of bump stocks among other gun control measures, CNN reported. It also allows some teachers to carry guns on campus.

Scott said he was “not persuaded” by the provision that could let teachers who undergo training carry handguns with agreement from local school districts and sheriff’s departments.

Under the voluntary program, teachers who “exclusively perform classroom duties” won’t be allowed to carry guns unless they have military or law enforcement experience or teach a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.

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“I still think law enforcement officers should be the ones who protect our schools,” Scott said, adding he is “glad” the program is not mandatory.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly recommended arming teachers as a solution to gun violence in schools, suggesting teachers who carry concealed weapons receive “a little bit of a bonus.”

Following the shooting, students of the high school have become active leaders in a national movement calling for tighter gun control. One of the teen activists, Cameron Kasky, praised the Florida bill becoming law.

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https://twitter.com/cameron_kasky/status/972230892499415040

The National Rifle Association is “disappointed” with the law, according to the New York Times.

H/T CNN

 
The Daily Dot