Today in Tallahassee, just about 48 hours after a face to face meeting with survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) put forth his new safety plan. His $500 million dollar plan starts with raising the age a person can buy a long gun in the Sunshine State from 18-21.
Gov. Scott’s proposal came as teachers returned for the first time to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since the Valentine’s Day shooting that killed 17 people. Students are expected back in class on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Broward County school superintendent said he is adamantly opposed to teachers having guns. His remarks came about the same time as President Donald Trump was advocating arming teachers who would be trained to carry a gun.
For now-Gov. Scott stopped short of drafting teachers to carry guns opting for beefing up security using providing a professional law enforcement officer for every school — and one for every 1,000 students at larger schools — by the time the fall 2018 school year begins.
The shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where over 3,000 students are on campus would warrant at least two and perhaps three guards.
Looking deeper into Gov. Scott’s plan he would create a “violent threat restraining order” that would let a court prohibit a violent or mentally ill person from purchasing or possessing a firearm or any other weapon under certain circumstances.
Another key point of the plan was aimed to strengthen gun purchase and possession restrictions for mentally ill people under the state’s Baker Act, which allows someone to be involuntarily hospitalized for up to 72 hours. Scott is seeking $50 million for mental health initiatives that include expanding mental health services by providing counseling, crisis management, and other mental health services for youth and young adults.
“No one with mental issues should have access to a gun. It is common sense. It for their own best interest, much less the best interest of our communities,” Scott said.