Seven years after Chris Hixon died shielding students from gunfire during the Parkland massacre, his son Tom Hixon watches as Florida lawmakers once again vote to repeal one of the gun safety measures enacted in response to the tragedy.
On March 26, the Florida House of Representatives voted 78-34 on House Bill 759 to lower the gun purchase age from 21 to 18. This is the third time such legislation has been pushed in the house since the 2018 provision, but it has yet to make it through the Senate.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act was passed by then-Governor Rick Scott in 2018 after the massacre in Parkland, Florida. The act had several provisions, including the law to increase the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21, after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 students and faculty members at the high school.
The push to reverse the act 7 years after the tragedy has stirred up debate across partisan lines.
Among the opposition is Tom Hixon, who explained to the WFLA8: “Now lawmakers want to repeal that progress that was achieved in 2018 and allow 18-year-olds to own a firearm, increasing the risk of the MSD shooting happening again, killing more innocent people like my father and 16 other daughters and sisters, sons and brothers and fathers.”
However, many contest that this is simply a push to protect the rights of Americans.
“I would say I’m vindicating people’s constitutional 2nd Amendment rights,” said DeSantis. “You have some 20-year-old marine out there carrying a firearm in Fallujah, back where I served back in the day, and they come here, and they can’t purchase a rifle to go hunting or something like that. It’s not something that is consistent with due process.”
Not all those affected by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre have contested this repeal. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the shooting, spoke of his support for the repeal.
“They could lower it; it doesn’t make a difference, that doesn’t bother me,” Pollack said to WPTV. “I’d rather them put more effort in to keep the mentally ill and criminals from being able to purchase a firearm.”
Age does not seem to be an issue for advocates of the repeal, citing that 18-year-olds may join the military and operate firearms.
“We must stop infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding adults who are old enough to serve in our military and make other significant life decisions,” said Rep. Michelle Salzman who filed the bill.
While current debate on this topic is largely divided across party lines, with only 6 Republicans voting against the repeal, the initial push for this protective measure was a bipartisan effort to respond to tragedy.
Despite challenges from the National Rifle Association (NRA), the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law in a March 14 ruling. This decision prompted current Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to express his refusal to enforce the law.
“I must depart from this Office’s prior judgment,” Uthmeier said. “In this instance, I cannot escape my judgment that the Florida statute is unconstitutional as applied to law-abiding adults under the age of 21.”
As HB 759 moves to the Senate, the debate over gun age requirements continues between those focused on public safety and those concerned with constitutional rights.
Attorney General Uthmeier and Governor DeSantis have expressed support for lowering the age restriction, while the recent court ruling upheld the law as it stands.
From Tom Hixon, who lost his father in the Parkland shooting, to Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was also killed that day, Floridians on both sides of the issue continue to debate their perspectives as lawmakers determine whether to maintain or modify the 2018 measure.
Comments are closed.