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Saturday, February 24, 2018

How sincere is Tallahassee about gun safety and school securiy measures?

Well sadly we now know what it takes for rick Scott and the republican's in Tallahassee to care about public school children, and yes if that came off as jaded I agree.

I want to be careful when giving them credit because he and they are undoubtedly partly responsible for where we find ourselves and to be hones they haven't done anything yet.

I don't think what they have proposed goes nearly far enough and in fact it just barely scratches the surface but since every journey starts with a first step I thought it should be acknowledged that after years of ignoring the issue people are finally talking about it. Though at the same time we should be wary because the chasms between what Scott wants and what the legislature want seem pretty far apart. 

From the Tampa Times,

 Gov. Rick Scott and Florida's Republican Legislature laid out a $500 million school safety package Friday that includes major changes to gun laws but falls far short of what survivors of the Parkland massacre and Democrats are demanding. 

In the most significant change on gun laws, state leaders agree that anyone who wants to buy a gun must be at least 21. Under current law, only handgun buyers must be 21. Beyond that, top Republicans disagree. 

• The Legislature wants a three-day wait for gun purchases, but Scott does not. 

• The Legislature wants to allow trained teachers to carry guns; Scott does not. 

• Scott wants police or relatives to be able to take away a mentally unstable person's guns without having to forcibly commit them. The Legislature does not.

http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/02/23/gov-rick-scott-and-florida-legislature-push-different-gun-safety-plans/

One of the big problems here is Scott and the legislature have made big promises that they have rarely delivered, and they routinely ignore the will of the people, time and time again bowing down to special interests and their donors.

Image may contain: people standing and indoor As concerned as I am that Scott and the legislature won't do anything or won't do anything that will make a difference, I am just as concerned how they plan to pay for the things that they do.

Public education is already chronically and in my opinion criminally underfunded in Florida and Tallahassee has a history of implementing mandates and not paying for them and if they did this here, that would further squeeze our public schools.

My concern is they will require these safety measures but pay for them by under funding education in large, even more.  

Tallahassee up till recently has not cared about public education for quite some time and despite some positive words from them, now is the time to be more vigilant than ever at least until something gets done.

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