Sen. Marco Rubio almost totally blew it.
Okay, yeah, sure, the Republican who has taken $3.3 million from the NRA during his political career was brave for just showing up at the CNN Townhall Wednesday in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High in Broward last week. The crowd at the BB&T Center just a few miles from the school where 14 students and three teachers died was not a friendly one. It was mostly students and parents and teachers from Parkland school. He was booed repeatedly. Ladra almost feared for his safety at one point.
Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson , also there for the Jake Tapper led discussion on gun control and school safety, congratulated Rubio’s courage as did some of the students, parents and teachers who asked him difficult questions nonetheless. Rubio didn’t flinch. He stood there and let people take shots at him, as he should have. And so he gets an A for effort.
He gets a C minus on the rest of the evening, however, and just barely misses flunking because of three things: (1) the foresight to shift a teeny tiny bit on policy, saying he would support increasing the age requirement for all guns from 18 to 21 and better background checks (2) his stand against letting teachers carry guns at schools and (3) his willingness to reconsider magazine clip size.
It’s something. And to repeat what some of the gun control activists have been saying, something is better than nothing.
But, true, it’s not enough. Not quite. And Rubio almost failed because he tripped all over himself trying to defend his position.
Here are some dos and don’ts the senator could use for the next time, and you know there will be a next time before these Parkland students succeed in making change happen:
DON’T correct or “school” the father of one of the dead kids on something you said. “Let me explain,” Rubio told Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jaime Guttenberg, a 14-year-old who was shot in the back as she ran away. As if there could possibly be an explanation at this time and place. How about no? Rubio couldn’t help himself and just had to “explain” or clarify his words. “Here’s what I said: The problems that we’re facing here today cannot be solved by gun laws alone.” Was it because Guttenberg said your comments on this have been “pathetically weak.” Don’t contradict him. Don’t set the record straight. Just say sorry, bro.
DON’T let the perfect get in the way of the good. The explanation was that the ban being considered on assault rifles only applies to about 200 firearms, leaving more than 200 guns that are used exactly the same way in the legal realm. How is this a good argument to be telling a man whose daughter was killed with one of those guns? That you can only prohibit half of them? Baby steps are okay, senator.
DON’T talk so much about “me, me, me” and all that you’ve done for gun safety. This is not a campaign event. You sound arrogant and out of touch. Even if it is true, there is a time and a place for everything.
DON’T say “people buy into my agenda” five times trying to defend taking campaign contributions from the NRA. In fact, don’t say “buy into my agenda” at all. Your agenda should be our agenda, which at this moment is gun control and school safety. Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans support some gun control and almost 100% support universal background checks. Also, if the KKK bought into your agenda, they could contribute, too?
DON’T lose a debate with a 17-year-old. Cameron Kasky, one of the surviving students and one of the founders of the #neveragain movement, seemed far more comfortable on that stage — even chatting with the crowd — than you did, senator. He’s the boy who challenged you to stop taking blood money from the NRA. You know what? At least say you will think about it. Because… aren’t you? Aren’t you thining about declining any more contributions from the NRA? You should be. You don’t have to change your “agenda” but you would gain credibility for it.
DO recognize a watershed movement when you see one. These kids — Cameron and Emma Gonzalez and Alfonso Calderon and David Hogg and Delaney Tarr and Alex Wind — they are going to be Time’s Person of the Year for 2018. You need to start listening to them. They are the future. Even your old Cuban base is impressed by them. Moms like me are going to listen and, more importantly, follow their lead. You should too. Or get out of the way.
DO get with the program. Change is coming. You can taste it in the air. These are not children. These young adults — and the tens of thousands who joined them in student walkouts across the country Wednesday — can vote this year. Gun reform is coming whether you like it or not. So be in front of it. Or gt out of the way.
DO break up with Dana Loesch and the NRA. They don’t support your agenda anymore, since they don’t support changing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 or, I believe, limiting the size of magazine clips. It’s time you part ways. You might lose some campaign cash but you won’t be elected again if you don’t. It’s going to be an albatross.
This should just be the start of this conversation. There is a lot more to say and ask and debate.
And Rubio is going to have to bone up on what his constituents want and the real steps that need to be taken to make our schools and communities safer — before he gets kicked out of class.

Read Full Story

On Wednesday, a 19-year-old former student with an assault rifle walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County and opened fire, killing 17 people and wounding at least 15 more.
On Thursday, at 1 p.m., the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee will consider a bill that would make it easier for convicted felons who have had their rights restored to get a gun permit without the state first getting all the criminal background information.
Yep, you heard that right. Convicted felons whose rights have been restored can’t vote, but they can sure get their guns. Paperwork, schmakerwork.
This is in addition to a slew of proposed bills in the Florida House that will allow guns in private schools (HB 113), allow guns in public schools (HB 621), allow guns on property owned, rented, leased or used by churches or religious institutions (HB 1419) and make it easier for people to get their guns back after they’ve been confiscated by police (HB 6013). Ladra will watch as these move through committees. Stay tuned.
Today’s scheduled discussion will be about Senate Bill 740, sponsored by Sen. Kelly Stargel (R-Lakeland). Buried in a couple of paragraphs near the end of the 98-page Senate Bill 740 — an agricultural piece of legislation about oyster harvesting and water vending standards and seed labeling and restrictions on telephone solicitors — is a change in the law that allows agents with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to grant firearm permits within 90 days even when the criminal background checks are not complete.
Here’s the actual language from page 88 of the bill:
“In the event the department receives incomplete criminal history information or no final disposition on a crime that may disqualify the applicant, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must expedite efforts to acquire the final disposition or proof of restoration of civil and firearm rights, or confirmation that clarifying records are not available from the jurisdiction where the criminal history originated. Ninety days after the date of receipt of the completed application, if the department has not acquired final disposition or proof of restoration of civil and firearm rights, or confiration that clarifying records are not available from the jurisdiction where the criminal history originated, the department shall issue the license in the absence of disqualifying information. However, such license must be immediately suspended and revoked upon receipt of disqualifying information.”
So, basically, they’re gonna take the guns back when they give them to people who shouldn’t have them. “Ooooops. Sorry, Mad Dog. Can we have that AK back?” Not sure how that’s gonna work.
Currently, gun permit applications are held indefinitely until all the background criminal history information is complete. And according to published reports quoting proponents of the bill, only 1% of gun permit applicants are denied based on incomplete information. So we need to change the law for this one percent? What possible public policy purpose could this relaxation on background checks — which reportedly was requested by Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam — provide the community? I can’t think of one.
Well, maybe, just out of respect for the 17 students and teachers killed Wednesday in a high school, maybe the committee members ought to table this for another day.

Read Full Story

It seems like every Democrat candidate is using Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in their mailers against their counter party opponents. Our mailboxes are full of Trump comparisons in what is a very obvious concerted effort to motivate Democrats and keep disgusted Republican voters home (read: GOTV and voter suppression). 

But Trump isn’t enough for Sen. Anitere Flores. So the Florida Democratic Party has thrown the entire GOP conservative bloc against her.

In their attempt to turn that Senate seat blue, the state Dems have sent out mailers attacking Anitere on her time as president of Doral “College,” an extension of charter high schools that is still not accredited, and her votes on guns. That’s the one that shows not only Trump but a menagerie of the most right Republicans of our time.

“On a scale from 1 to extremely wrong on gun issues, Anitere Flores is off the charts,” says the mailer, next to a photo of the senator and photos of Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott and Ben Carson. Ted Freaking Cruz?!

What? No George Bush? When did he stop being the villain we blame for everything?

And you’d think the smart consultants at the Florida Democratic Party would do Congressman Patrick Murphy a solid by including a photo of Sen. Marco Rubio in this photographic line-up, but noooooo. Maybe they didn’t want to piss off all the Cuban voters.

The mailer goes on to say that Flores is a “radical Republican… endangering our community and our families” and that she voted to let guns at Disney World, public parks and workplaces. But not really.

In 2008, she did vote for a bill — which passed and was known as the “Bring Your Gun to Work” law — that would let anybody who already has a concealed weapons permit, except teachers and people who work with fireworks, to take their guns to their place of work and leave them in the car. More recently, in 2015, she voted to strengthen “stand your ground” laws that make it difficult to prosecute questionable “self-defense” shootings.

But that’s not putting guns in daycares.

And when it says she voted to remove all local gun laws, what it means is that she voted for a statewide law that would not allow local municipalities to keep or create their own gun legislation.

What it doesn’t say is that Flores was also the only Florida Republican who signed off requesting a special session on gun control after the mass Orlando shooting this year.

Sarah Palin would not approve.

A group of Democrat electeds and wannabe electeds got together Friday to denounce gun violence and call for gun reform at what amounted to basically a campaign stop.

Standing side by side to deliver their message of support for common sense firearm restrictions, were former Congressman Joe Garcia, who is running to get his seat back in Florida’s 26th congressional district, State Senator Dwight Bullard, who is in a heated race to keep his seat and Democratic Party candidates Debbie Mucarsel-Powel (state Senate against Anitere Flores) and Dan Horton (state House against Holly Roschein). 

Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava was the only politician at the event who isn’t in a race this November. 

“We have more than 3 billion guns in this country. That’s more than we have people,” Levine Cava said, adding that gun violence is the number one cause of death for young black men between the ages of 18 and 25. 

See a video of the press conference here

“This is a national crisis, a national disaster. And it is hitting us right here are home,” she said, adding that it claimed the lives of too many innocents. The press conference was at Goulds Park in Southwest Dade, near a home where six teenagers at a party were shot in a drive-by recently.

Garcia said that among those innocent victims were 45 children shot in 2016 and 70 in 2015. “This isn’t some faraway war. This is happening right here in our community,” he said. “It’s unacceptable.”  

Among the group of politicos also stood Regina Talabert, mother of one of the 2016 gun violence victims, 17-year-old Noricia Talabert. The South Dade High School senior had just picked up two friends at a local corner Florida City grocery store when a man opened fire on her car with an AK47 rifle about two months ago. Her mom held a large color photo of her daughter’s graduation class picture Friday.

They were also joined by Greater Goulds Optimist Club President J.L. Demps Jr. and Dr. Willy Wright of the Goulds Coalition of Ministers and Lay People who rolled out a pledge in support of common-sense gun reform and called on the attendees to advocate for an end to gun violence in our communities. They signed a Coalition pledge:

• Support a comprehensive ban on assault weapons
• Support background checks on all gun sales and transfers — including elimination of the gun show loophole
• Support legislation to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists
• Support a ban on high capacity ammunition magazines
• Oppose legislation that allows concealed weapons on schools and other sensitive areas

“The legislation we are fighting for will make a difference and save lives,” said Garcia, who has challenged U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who beat him in 2014 amid headlines about absentee ballot fraud in Garcia’s campaign.

Read related story: Joe Garcia releases first web ad in congressional contest

“I’m asking Republicans to have some courage and take a stand for once,” Garcia said. “If Carlos Curbelo would rather pocket contributions from the NRA than save lives, then I challenge him to tell these families that cash for his reelection matters more than their safety.”

Garcia said that 90% of Americans want gun control reform and seemed especially troubled by the gun show loophole.

“In this district, here in South Florida, we have one of the largest gun shows in the country, where you can walk in and buy a weapon with absolutely zero background check,” Garcia said. “These weapons end up on these streets, killing our kids. It’s unacceptable. We have to stop it.”

A Garcia campaign spokesman said they had tracked at least $44,000 in contributions to Curbelo directly from the NRA alone. They believe the support is over $50,000. Curbelo has voted against background checks and to relax gun restrictions, has gone on TV to say gun control is not the answer and, with the rest of the GOP, blocked debate in 2015 on legislation to ban the sale of guns to individuals on the no fly list.

Read related story: Joe Garcia and Carlos Curbelo agree on Zika

He must have changed his mind because this past summer, after the mass shooting tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Curbelo filed bipartisan legislation to ban sales to suspected terrorists. Garcia immediately called it pandering. 

The Brady Campaign, one of the nation’s leading anti-gun violence advocacy groups has rated Curbelo — a lobbyist who put his firm in his wife’s name so he wouldn’t have to reveal who he lobbied for — as a “lap dog” for the NRA. 

Hey, maybe they are one of his secret clients.