Florida Gov. Rick Scott Moves to Raise Gun Buyer Age to 21, Ban Bump Stocks

In response to last week’s Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a plan to require “all individuals purchasing firearms” in the state to be 21 or older, ban the “purchase or sale” of bump-stock devices, and prohibit sales to “violent or mentally ill” buyers. In a break with the White House, Scott also said he would not support President Trump’s initiative to arm teachers with concealed-carry weapons, saying that “My focus is law enforcement... Let teachers focus on teaching.” He also proposed “a half a billion dollars for school safety and mental-health initiatives.” The state of Florida “can’t trust the federal process,” he said, and had to take matters into its own hands. Scott declined to ban the AR-15—the weapon used in the Parkland attack—noting “banning specific weapons is not going to fix this.” This comes as President Trump doubled down on his support of concealed-carry in classrooms during his Conservative Political Action Conference speech Friday morning.