Florida lawmakers explain why they voted "yes" or "no" on gun debate

There's been a lot of conversation about semi-automatic weapons like the one Nikolas Cruz is suspected of using in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Florida’s Legislature is working on a deal that would increase age limits and waiting periods for so-called assault rifles and create a new program to arm personnel. It would also remove schools from “gun-free” zones.

But just Tuesday, the Florida House voted down Leader Designate Kionne McGhee’s motion to bring Orlando Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith’s bill, HB 219 Banning Assault Weapons, from a committee to the House floor for immediate debate and vote.

Lawmakers voted along party lines.

We reached out to 28 local lawmakers and asked them why they voted yes or no. We heard back from about a third of them.

• Democratic Rep. Janet Cruz said she voted yes to hear HB 219 because “Yesterday we, again, allotted time to consider legislation declaring porn a public health crisis. But House leadership will not allow an honest and open debate on the merits of policies to curb and prevent gun violence, meaning our legislative ‘process’ is an absolute joke and a failure to the people of Florida. I voted yes on the measure to hear HB 219, the assault weapons ban bill, because I believe we owe it to our students, teachers, and families to have an open conversation and fairly debate ideas that aim to save lives throughout our state; the time is now to act on gun safety reform.”

Republican Rep. Kathleen Peters said she’s looking at the bigger picture, writing: “Although I do believe we need common sense gun reform, I voted down on the motion because I am not that narrowly focused. I want real reform to not only stop mass shootings, but stop all gun violence. If we just banned assault weapons and did nothing else, we would have done little to protect our citizens in a meaningful way. I do not want to lose another life to gun violence; not through a mass shooting, domestic violence or suicide.”

Democratic Rep. Sean Shaw said he voted yes because “I could not, and I don’t know how anyone could, in good conscience look those students in the eye and tell them I will not do everything in my power to prevent this type of tragedy from ever occurring again. Weapons of war have no place on our streets, especially in the hands of a teenager. When a child is shot in our state every seventeen hours, it is far past time we do something about the epidemic of gun violence plaguing Florida. A ban on assault weapons should be just the start.”

Republican Rep. Chris Latvala said he voted no because he supports other solutions for this problem, calling the motion a “procedural vote for a political purpose.”

Democratic Rep. Amy Mercado said she voted yes because “mass shootings in the U.S. have increased after the expiration of The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act (the Federal Assault Weapons Ban) in 2004. The reinstatement and strengthening of this Act would be one way to limit mass shootings. … Several bills like this have been filed for years, yet the House and Senate leadership along with the NRA lobby have put a stop to each and every one of them.”

Republican Rep. Ross Spano said he voted no because “I didn’t feel good supporting a knee-jerk reaction that would have had no practical effect; I’m working on a more comprehensive proposal and will be able to discuss more tomorrow.”

Republican Rep. Chris Sprowls said he voted no because “This was not a vote to halt discussion on reform, close the door on the discussion, or even a vote to 'ban assault weapons'. It was a procedural move that has been widely denounced by both Republicans and Democrats alike, including the Democrat representative from Broward County. It is my hope that we can put politics aside and focus on fixing the problem. And I believe that we will.”

Republican Rep. Ralph E. Massullo said he voted no because “it was a political ploy taking advantage of a situation and it capitalized on emotion. It was done despite lawmakers on both sides already working on a bipartisan effort to respond to this problem.”

Democratic Rep. Margaret Good says she voted yes because “Too many innocent children, teenagers, and adults have died in mass and individual shootings because the Florida Legislature has failed to take action. Days after the shooting, the Republicans in the House voted down a motion to allow the House to even debate a bill regulating assault weapons. I was elected because voters want a change. They want fair and full debate and they want reasonable solutions to tough issues. Failing to allow debate on ways to end gun violence is doing a disservice to Floridians, and I won’t stand for it.”

And Democratic Rep. Ben Diamond said he voted yes and signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill because “in addition to banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, we must also implement universal background checks and improve the quality and availability of mental health resources in Florida. There are thousands of students here in Tallahassee today demanding action. We need to pass meaningful gun safety reforms now.”