Florida Governor Rick Scott announced on Friday that he wants to raise the age limit in the state for buying a firearm to the age of 21, just one week after a 19-year-old shot allegedly 17 people at a high school in the state.
Scott also said Florida would completely ban bump stocks, which dramatically increase semi-automatic weapons’ potential rate of fire, and prohibit the mentally ill from accessing weapons.
“We will require all individuals purchasing firearms to be 21 or older,” Scott said Friday. “There will be exceptions for active duty, reserved military and spouses, national guard members and law enforcement.”
Scott’s announcement was part of his comprehensive plan to address school safety in the wake of last week’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The plan, which he said he wanted to implement within the next two weeks, covers gun laws, school safety, and mental health. He said he had spent the week meeting with survivors of the shooting, including the students who came to Tallahassee to lobby for gun control measures. (While the students were there, the Florida House declined to take up legislation to ban assault rifles.)
“This…
