Gun Control

• Ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines

  •  After a series of high-profile mass shootings, President Bill Clinton signed the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which restricted features on semi-automatic pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The bill also limited magazine capacity to no more than 10 bullets. The ban expired in 2004. My campaign is calling to bring this ban back in Florida. A ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines will help prevent mass shootings and reduce the amount of life lost in mass shootings that do occur.

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• Refuse to take donations from the gun lobby

  • The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun rights organizations spent nearly $54m in the 2016 election cycle to support so-called gun rights candidates. Over $17m was poured into Florida so support candidates who refuse to act to protect our students in school and Floridians at large. I will not take any money from the NRA.

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• Institute red flag law 

  • One proposed approach is to give courts more authority to confiscate weapons from people who are considered a threat to themselves and others. Five states have "red flag" laws that allow a judge to issue an extreme risk protection order that temporarily restricts a person from owning a gun if family, household members, and police can convince them they're a danger. Gun safety groups say they hold the potential to reduce suicide rates and contain potential violence early on.

  • This proposal has gained special attention after the Parkland attack, where authorities identified prior complaints about the suspected shooter warning he was a possible threat. With a red flag law, they could take the evidence to a judge and seek immediate action rather than go through the more difficult process of committing someone or prosecuting them for a crime.

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• Universal background checks

  • Under current laws, licensed dealers are required to run a background check to make sure a buyer doesn’t have a criminal record, history of mental illness, or any other factor that legally bars him from purchasing a gun.

  • But the law has a big loophole: Private sellers — meaning unlicensed sellers — don’t have to run a background check. So someone who doesn’t run a licensed gun shop can sell or gift a firearm at a gun show, over the internet, or to friends and family without verifying through a background check that the buyer isn’t legally prohibited from purchasing the weapon.

  • We must close this loophole and prevent criminals from getting weapons.