TALLAHASEE, Fla. — A House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would allow guns on state university campuses just two months after a shooter wounded three people at a Florida State University library.
Rep. Greg Steube argued his bill (HB 4005) would make campuses safer because a shooter could be stopped by a gun owner before police respond to a shooting scene. He said gun-free zones don’t prevent people from going on shooting sprees.
“It didn’t stop the shooter at Florida State University’s library, it didn’t stop the shooter at Virginia Tech,” said Steube, R-Sarasota.
Steube said he began preparing the bill before the Florida State shooting in November, when a former student Myron May wounded two students and a library employee before police fatally shot him. He noted that you have to be 21 to obtain a concealed weapon permit in Florida, so very few students would qualify.
The 8-4 vote was split along party lines, with Republicans supporting the measure and Democrats opposed. The bill has two more committee stops in the House. An identical Senate bill has yet to be heard.
Two of the ‘no’ votes came from former police officers: Reps. Dave Kerner of Palm Springs and Clovis Watson of Gainesville. Kerner said that police officers are trained to respond to active shooters and gun-carrying students are more likely to make bad decisions in a very tense situation.
“To suggest that they would be the proper entity to confront an active shooter is very, very misguided,” said Kerner.
