The Florida Roundup - Florida lawmakers look to ease gun regulations while restricting abortion rights

Episode Date: March 31, 2023

A bill to allow gun owners to carry without permits heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Florida’s six-week abortion ban nears a final vote.

Welcome to the Florida Roundup. Thanks for listening. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivera in Miami. Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill the legislature just sent to Governor DeSantis on Thursday. Now, the governor says he'll sign the bill into law. You would be able to carry the weapon without a permit or training. DeSantis made his comments Thursday while he was promoting his book at a popular gun store in Atlanta, Georgia. And under the new law, training and a background check will not be needed for people to carry concealed guns in public. Now, the bill's passage in Florida would come just days after a shooter opened fire inside a Nashville school, killing three adults and three children.

Here's President Joe Biden speaking about the Tennessee school shooting as he called for renewing a ban on assault-style weapons. We have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation. Earlier this week, I spoke about the legislation for permitting permitless carry in Florida with Sean Carana, the executive director of the gun rights advocacy group Florida Carry. group Florida Carry. So Sean, what does it mean for gun enthusiasts in a practical sense now that this permitless carry legislation is likely soon going to be signed into law by Governor DeSantis? Really, we're going to see it have the biggest impact is going to be the single mother that has the restraining order against someone who doesn't have to wait 90 days to get their concealed carry license. It's too often that people in Florida who are at the most need of a method of legal self-defense are the people who are most denied that method of self-defense because they can't

afford the licensing fees. They can't afford to take off work to go and get their fingerprinting done at the sheriff's office because they only offer fingerprinting three days a week all during the work week. It's not going to change who is allowed to carry. It's just going to change what bars to entry are in place. I pulled up the statewide data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for concealed carry arrests over the last decade, and less than half of all arrests for carrying a weapon without a permit resulted in a conviction, less than half. But a lot of people arrested spent months in jail. Can you speak a little bit about what permitless carry means for those kind of arrests moving

forward? You know, a felony charge like carrying a concealed weapon brings with it a stigma, even if at the end of the day, you're not prosecuted and not convicted, it goes on your record. And, you know, try and get a job with an arrest for a felony weapons violation. A lot of employers, even if they were not convicted, will just move on to the next candidate. In Florida, within our society, we've been very forgiving of other types of crimes. We've said that, hey, people who've maybe committed a nonviolent felony, well, they've served their time and we've given them back the right to vote. But, you know, even today, this legislation doesn't change that. Those people still don't have the right to bear arms.

Your group and a lot of the conservative base have been calling for an all-out open carry bill to be passed in Florida. Is this a compromise? It is a half measure. Florida has fallen behind most of the country when it comes to recognizing the right to bear arms. Open carry is legal in most states, the vast majority of states, and there's no issues there. However, we have seen a lot of pushback from law enforcement here in Florida on the issue of open carry. They have, since 2011, fought us at every turn on trying to legalize that. And what they don't get is, you know, if I'm out hiking in the woods, I have to conceal my firearm that I carry for defense against, well, the dangerous critters that live out in those woods. in those woods. It seems quite odd that someone like me who would like to go hiking in the woods has to hide their gun instead of being able to carry one openly or even being able to carry

a more appropriate type of firearm that's maybe unconcealable. So it's not just a ban on carrying openly. It's also an outright ban on carrying all classifications of firearms other than concealable handguns, which we think is unconstitutional. To your point, most states do allow open carry of some or all firearms, but only a few states generally prohibit basically any carrying of firearms. And that's California, Illinois, Florida, and Washington, D.C. How does it feel like with Florida being in that group? Florida would be the only Republican majority state that I know of that goes this way. And I try and warn people, I guess, trying to equate the right to bear arms as being a Republican or a Democrat issue.

It's really not. We've seen most of the gun control enacted over the past couple of decades come under Republican administrations. Just a few years ago here in Florida, we had an outright ban on the commercial purchase of firearms by anyone 18 to 21. That wasn't passed by the Democrats. That was passed by a Republican supermajority in the Florida legislature. So I want to ask you about something because I was talking to a gun rights advocate, an attorney who on the one hand supports this permitless carry bill, but on the

other hand, says that it might actually create problems for law enforcement because he argued, say, if you get pulled over, a lot of people immediately pull out their concealed permit license, give it to the law enforcement officer, and kind of diffuse that situation. But if someone is not carrying a license and they have a firearm, it could actually create some tension with law enforcement. So even if you don't have to get a concealed carry permit to carry a firearm in Florida, he would suggest that you still do it just to diffuse those situations. What do you make of that argument? I don't think that one carries a lot of water because as we've seen with other states that don't have a requirement to carry a license in order to carry a gun, it's really not a problem. Where I think he's right in

recommending that people get a concealed carry license is, however, for the purposes of what's called reciprocity. And that means if I go from Florida on a road trip, when I go through other states who don't necessarily have the same laws on the right to bear arms as Florida does, then I have a concealed carry license that they will likely recognize. Florida's concealed carry license is one of the more robust programs, and it is recognized by a vast majority of states, unfortunately not all. The recent University of North Florida survey found 77% of Floridians were against this bill. What do you say to that vast majority of people in Florida, according to this poll, whose goals do not align with your own when it comes to gun rights? Yeah, there's been a lot of people who have been against this bill for being from opposite ends

of the spectrum. One side is that they just don't like people carrying guns. And fortunately, the Bill of Rights isn't subject to public opinion. If you want to change the Constitution, there is an amendatory process, but it's not subject to a vote. Rights don't require public agreement. In fact, that's why they were put in place, is to take out of the hands of governments and votes. Then you have the other group of people who just think the bill didn't go far enough. This is the only bill I'm aware of that's purporting in some circles to be a constitutional carry bill that does not include any class of firearm except for concealable handguns and in only a concealed manner.

So it's certainly not a constitutional carry bill. But we did not lose our rights when it came to the right to bear arms all at once. We lost them one piece at a time. We will not get them back all at once. We will get them back one piece at a time. And we're taking every piece we can get as soon as we can get it. That was the executive director of Florida Carry, Sean Carana. That was the executive director of Florida Carry, Sean Carana.

As Florida is poised to become the 26th state to allow gun owners to carry their concealed weapons anywhere without a permit or training, we want to hear from you, Florida, as we talk about guns. 305-995-1800. Call us up statewide. Tweet us at Florida Roundup as we welcome our guests for the hour. Nancy Ankrum, editorial page editor at the Miami Herald. Hi, Nancy. Hi there. Nate Monroe, Metro columnist for the Florida Times Union. Good to be with you, Nate. Hey, Melissa.

And Chris Fluker, opinion editor at the Orlando Sentinel. Chris, good to have you. Good to be here. All right, Nancy, let's start with you. We heard from Florida Carry just now saying that they don't believe the bill, the mass shootings Florida has suffered in Parkland and at Pulse in Orlando. I'd like to begin by asking you about that. The legislature is speeding this through despite opposition from even Second Amendment supporters and those calling for safety measures. What about that? I think that our lawmakers know that it's at least two years, you know, with the legislature between being elected or challenged or unelected in office. I think that this issue really is not one in which lawmakers care or act on what their

constituents really and truly want. And this is something that our governor wants. And as you said, this is speeding through the legislature, as are so many other DeSantis initiatives, DeSantis-backed initiatives. And so this should not come as a surprise. Let's just say that, you know, if there was no movement on gun control after, I cannot remember how many little children in a Connecticut school were shot to death, ripped apart by bullets. I'm not sure why we are expecting a legislature with a super majority of Republicans to really act on what the majority of people in Florida want. And let's be clear, that majority has to include both Democrats and Republicans and, of course, independents. Independence 305-995-1800.

Now, as you mentioned, Nancy, the governor is certainly in favor of this, along with further restrictions on abortion rights. We'll talk about that in a little bit. Nate Monroe, you know, this is there are two things happening here as you look at this. The legislature moving bills through that do not have popular support. And also, as you have written about, the legislature passing bills that enable Governor DeSantis to better position himself in a Republican presidential primary? Yeah, I mean, this entire legislative session is essentially a giant in-kind contribution to his still not yet announced, but very obviously happening presidential campaign. You know, I mean, I think Nancy's right that there's a there's a lack of seriousness about some of these major initiatives that are just getting shoehorned through the legislature.

You know, this gun bill, like so much else that the legislature is doing, I mean, it's been completely captured by a special interest. It is completely divorced from lived reality. It's divorced from public opinion. And it's really just about, you know, serving the kind of narrow interests of a governor and satisfying, you know, a very vocal special interest, which is, you know, these gun activists are, as you guys laid out at the top of the show, still not happy. They're not going to be happy until you can buy guns out of vending machines. And so I'm sure in the next session or two, you know, that's where we'll be. Chris Fluker, Orlando Sentinel, in the wake of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. In the wake of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub survivors, the Parkland survivors and just recently the families of

a nine-year-old girl and a journalist from one of our local TV stations who were gunned down on the street in Pine Hills. There's kind of a bewilderment that they're just not being heard. Why nobody hears how much heartbreak they're going through and why there's so much despair in communities where guns are so easy to get legally. And particularly young men are dying, taking their own lives with these readily accessible

guns. It's really mysterious to a lot of people. You can call us at 305-995-1800. Again, that's 305-995-1800. And I want to go to Lisa calling from Tallahassee. Lisa, thanks for calling the Florida Roundup. You're on. You there, Lisa?

Hello? Hello? Hello? You're on the air. Please go ahead. I'm not Lisa, but... Maybe it's Lenny. Sorry about that. It's Kevin.

Kevin! We have another call coming in here. We have Raymond calling from Palm Beach. Sorry about that mix-up there, but can we get Raymond from Palm Beach? Are you on? Yes, I am. Can you hear me? We can. We can. Please go ahead. Big fan of Florida Roundup.

I just love you guys and your approach to things. I'm going to make a statement. The only connection between the psycho mass shooters that are out there and concealed carry rules in Florida is that perhaps a concealed carry person, whether permitted or just under the governor's new initiative, might be in a position at some point to intervene in some type of terrible random violence. And do not believe, and people are misled in thinking, that in Florida you can purchase a firearm without a background check. that in Florida you can purchase a firearm without a background check. If you go to a gun show or if you purchase a firearm, there's a federal form that must be filled out,

and also there is a call made to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement checking the person to make sure that they don't fall in the areas that would not allow the purchase of a firearm. So this thing has been so misrepresented. Concealed carry is not a bad thing. Personally, I've been the victim of violence where if a party that was with me was not a concealed carry person, I would have been seriously injured or even killed. And it wasn't even, I wasn't, I didn't carry a firearm at that time. However, these rules are greatly misunderstood. Of course, these shootings in the school and the mass violence stuff, terrible, terrible, heartbreaking

tragedy for all of us. But approaching it from restricting legal gun owners from being able to protect themselves and those around them is a big mistake. Thank you for your call, Raymond. Nancy with the Miami Herald, I think I want to put that to you. I mean, to Raymond's point, the conversations about assault weapons bans and concealed carry question that we're talking about, they're not really the same topic, right? The permitless carry doesn't apply anything to assault weapons. It is only pistols. No, it doesn't. And I'm not sure, Maybe I'm unclear. I'm just not sure about what restrictions he's talking about. This does not restrict legal gun ownership. What it does is it expands it. bans it. And I think that he talked about background checks. Well, you know, that happens at gun shows. And I'm concerned, though, that there is not a permit needed. That falls away.

And also, training is not needed. Now, I don't know the degree to which people walk out of gun training class and are up to speed and really know what they're doing. But to not even have people learn the basics before slipping the gun into their belt or into a holster or into, you know, the glove compartment of their car should be very, very worrisome to all of us, including law abiding gun owners. And I'll just mention even the gun advocates I talked to did say, please go get trained, go get your go get your license. Yeah license. Yeah, it's now voluntary, not mandated. Some have drawn the correlation between being able to drive a car, which can kill people, requires a license and a driver's education course.

But Florida, call us up. Let us know your thoughts at 305-995-1800 or tweet the show at Florida Roundup as we talk about the expansion of gun rights in the state. Keep listening. This is the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. We'll be right back. Terima kasih telah menonton Thank you. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Danny Rivera in Miami. the conversation on a newly passed bill that will allow Floridians to carry concealed loaded

weapons anywhere without a permit or any training. And the bill is now going to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who has vowed that he will sign the legislation. Once this bill becomes law, Florida residents would only need to have a valid ID while carrying a concealed weapon. residents would only need to have a valid ID while carrying a concealed weapon. Failure to do that would get you a $25 fine. 25 whole bucks. We want to hear from you about this. Is this a good move for Florida? Call us at 305-995-1800. That's 305-995-1800. And tweet us at Florida Roundup. Our guests again for this hour are Nancy Ancrum, editorial page editor of the Miami Herald, Nate Monroe, metro columnist for the Florida Times Union,

and Chris Fluker, opinion editor at the Orlando Sentinel. On Twitter, a listener says it's wildly irresponsible for the legislature and the governor to act directly against the will of the people they were elected to serve with the passing of permitless carry. That said, it's 100 percent unsurprising and completely on brand for this regime, they say. But let us know what you think, folks. 305-995-1800. Martin holding in Miami. Hello, Martin. Your thoughts. Yes, I mean, I have my concealed weapon and I do believe in it. I'm pro-guns. I'm also a Republican.

But I believe in the concealed weapon because of the safety element. Most people never shot a weapon before. And one of the elements of getting that license is you have to shoot that weapon and the safety training. There's a major piece in that safety training that is missing by passing this bill. And I feel that is essential if you're a gun owner to be safe and cautious and actually know how to use that weapon. Thank you, Martin. Nate Monroe, Florida Times Union. You know, we tend to hear this argument most often from gun owners. They're most perturbed by the lack of training that will now be required to carry a weapon. I mean, as they should be.

You know, you kind of hear different variants of, you know, of these of these arguments for concealed carry. And one of them is this idea that, you know, people should be allowed to carry guns to protect themselves. are just not compelling against the wave of statistics that show what an enormous danger to civil society guns are. And the idea that we're doing anything to expand access to guns, particularly eliminating what I don't believe is a particularly onerous training program in the first place is, you know, again, like just divorced from common sense and lived reality of Floridians who possess common sense themselves and support making gun ownership, you know, something that you should actually have to work for. We got a call coming in now from Orlando with Charles. Again, you can call us at 305-995-1800. 305-995-1800. Charles, thanks for calling. You're on. Hi. Good morning. My name's Charles from Orlando. You guys were discussing earlier about, you know, a lot of people in Florida, they oppose some of these legislative things going

through Ron DeSantis. We've got a lot of legislators themselves who are Republicans who disagree with a lot of their legislation being pushed by Ron DeSantis. But since they're under the rat of having their committee speak, switch jobs, change, and all this, you know, having all these independent voters and all these people who don't show up in the primaries, that does play into Ron DeSantis running for the presidency. If these individuals were registered Republicans instead of independents, and instead of letting their votes go to waste, they would be able to vote for another candidate other than Ron DeSantis

to make it to the general election. Thank you for the call. I have a question for Chris Fluker calling from the Orlando Sentinel. Just this morning, Governor DeSantis said that he will consider calling a special legislative session to go further than what's currently on his desk and pass an open carry law. And that's if he can get the votes. And that if word is actually really important here. We recently talked to Senate President Republican Kathleen Pasadena. And she told us she does not support open carry and she would not support a law, at least at this moment

going forward. So this is actually one of the few areas where even within Republicans in the state of Florida, there's a real difference of opinion, seemingly. What do you make of that and how the legislature responds to this moving forward? Well, these Republicans, they're in Tallahassee right now, These Republicans, they're in Tallahassee right now. They have to come back to their districts where, as you pointed out, support for sensible restrictions on gun ownership and carrying the gun are very popular. very popular. Republicans, Democrats, the support does not drop below 70% for many of the restrictions, such as bans on assault weapons, mandatory training. And so they have to go back to their districts and face their voters. And I'm not even trying to diminish the fact that leaders like Senate President Pasadena do feel a sense of personal responsibility and have strong feelings themselves and nuanced feelings themselves. But other lawmakers were making it very clear with nudges and winks that they were only getting started

and that they were going to keep pushing until, as Nate said, you can get a gun and a vending machine. May tweets the show. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, I'd like to add on that yes they do have to go back to their constituents and explain but they also have to go to tallahassee and deal with what we now know is a vindictive governor who has already, at least here in Miami-Dade, reached down into local races and pitted Republican against someone seen as less Republican. And the DeSantis-backed backed candidate has won. They do know that it is not wise to cross this governor. Otherwise,

they might find themselves out of office. Thanks for that reminder. And our guests right now are all opinion columnist Nancy Ancrum, editorial page editor of the Miami Herald, Nate Monroe, columnist for the Florida Times Union, Chris Fluker. Opinion editor at the Orlando Sentinel. Lots of opinions on the Twitters. Here's one from May. We are sick of dead children. We must learn from countries that don't have this problem because they have sensible laws.

Please vote accordingly, she says. We should become single-issue voters on this. Let's go to Harve in Lantana, Florida. Harv, you're on the air. So tell me, what happened to the requirement for a well-regulated militia? And also, why does anybody need an AR-15? And also, why do you need more than six bullets? Nate Monroe, yeah, thank you, Harv. Nate Monroe, you know thank you, Harv.

Nate Monroe, you know, this comes down to how strictly you interpret the rights conferred by the Second Amendment. At the top of the hour, we heard from the executive director of Florida Carry. He and other activists on this issue interpret the Second Amendment very, very strictly. Polls show, though, the majority of Americans agree with Harve. They believe gun rights should be preserved with some restrictions to preserve the life and health of Americans at risk, in particular of mass shootings, but also suicides, which have become a big tragedy related to guns in America. Nate. Yeah, I mean, we're operating in a context where the Supreme Court has essentially made

up out of whole cloth a reading of the Second Amendment that guarantees individuals a right to possess a gun. And that's I mean, that's just the law of the land that we're living under. And that's the context that we're stuck with until the Supreme Court, you know, changes its view. And it could be a long time before that ever happens. And so, you know, this is a fairly recent legal invention by the court. And yeah, I mean, this is that, again, I mean, I feel like I and a lot of others can sound like nihilists about this, because it just seems like no amount of evidence and tragedy and public outrage changes the trajectory that this country and uniquely

this country in the Western world is on to just continuously opening up access to guns. Nate, I want to ask you something. You know, local governments in Florida are prohibited from passing their own gun regulations. What I mean, what position does that put politicians in in a place like Jacksonville, which is the murder capital of Florida, has the highest murder rate. Like what are local officials saying about the tools they have to actually address gun violence when, you know, they can't do anything about guns? That's not on that's not that's not on their toolkit. I mean, it's a very good point. You know, Jacksonville is a is a bit of an odd duck. It's it's a large Florida city that is actually under the super majority control of the Republican Party.

And so in a lot of ways, the legislature usurping home rule kind of takes the pressure off the mayor and the sheriff who have struggled for years with the city's high murder rate. But they kind of get to throw up their hands and say, well, guns are off the table. So I think that in a lot of other Florida cities with more progressive leadership, there might be frustration. I think in Jacksonville specifically, it kind of gives these local guys cover. And if you're just tuning in, you're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio, as we've been discussing the new permitless carry bill in Florida, which is headed towards the governor's desk.

desk. This week, the Florida Senate is also advancing a bill that would prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. And that is positioned for a full vote in the Florida Senate on Monday. Republican senators rejected a series of proposed changes sought by Democrats on that bill. And that bill, the six-week abortion ban, is sponsored by Senator Erin Grawl, a Republican representing Vero Beach. Here she is introducing that measure called the Heartbeat Protection Act. The bill has four main goals. To protect innocent unborn babies who deserve the right to life. To promote healthy families and support parents and babies by providing additional counseling and mentoring services, as well as providing materials to families

such as car seats, cribs, clothing, formula, and diapers. In addition to the $30 million of new funding for pregnant women and families included in the bill this year, this year the Senate's proposed budget provides significant funding for Florida's families. proposed budget provides significant funding for Florida's families. This year's budget includes $474.7 million to provide continued funding for extended postpartum care coverage for women enrolled in Medicaid and receiving CHIP Medicaid benefits, family planning, mom care, Healthy Start, and increased funding for the expansion of telehealth minority maternity care pilot program to 10 counties with the highest number

of women experiencing severe maternal morbidity. To prohibit, this bill prohibits abortions after six weeks with the exceptions for women who are victims of rape or incest, whose baby has a devastating diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality or to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman. And finally, to ensure that abortions are performed in person by a medical doctor or osteopathic physician this means medication abortion must be dispensed in person by a physician and cannot be delivered by mail or other courier service that from the bill sponsor meanwhile the house version of the bill has been approved by the

healthcare regulations subcommittee and will go to the Health and Human Services Committee in Tallahassee. Now let's go back a bit. Last year, lawmakers approved a 15-week abortion limit in Florida, but they did that before the June ruling last summer by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for states to change and further restrict abortion access. Let us know your thoughts, 305-995-1800, or tweet us at Florida Roundup. Chris Fluker, let's begin with you. We heard hours of public testimony around this measure, but the bills were approved mostly

unchanged. Attempts to add exemptions like religious exemptions or other exceptions for women failed. What does this say about the state of democracy in Florida, given that, as is with the gun measure, these bills are moving ahead against the overwhelming majority of the will of the voters who do not approve of these changes? Well, the disrespect for voters in Florida is another constant drumbeat in this legislature. and they are setting up a real constitutional collision under Florida's constitutional protections for abortion specifically, which in the past couple decades, at least three times, voters have said are protected, well, at least twice, let me correct, have said are protected by Florida's constitutional right to privacy. So Florida has 30-something years of case law, has voter sentiment solidly behind minimal restrictions on abortion,

but freedom of grown women to access this procedure under most circumstances that they do access abortion. And nobody seems to care. Let me talk a little bit more about that um the right to privacy provision in the constitution for many years covered abortion access in this state the state supreme court has upheld the fact that this provision protects the right to abortion. This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody argued in court that those past decisions were wrong and that they should be

tossed, Nancy Engram. So does court precedent mean nothing here when it comes to this issue? it mean nothing here when it comes to this issue? We will likely find out because I have no doubt that this will end up back in court because of that privacy clause that we have availed, of which we have availed ourselves for the past, you know, at least three decades. So I do think that this, along with other policy, other laws that are being passed, other legislation that's being passed, will end up in court. And already we are seeing court cases around a number of these issues. Well, folks, let us know how you feel about abortion being limited to just six weeks of pregnancy in Florida. That is before most women know they're pregnant.

Currently, you can get an abortion up to 15 weeks in Florida, but that is likely to change very soon. Let us know your thoughts, 305-995-1800, or tweet us at Florida Roundup. We'll be right back. This is the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. Thank you. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And we're continuing our conversation about Florida's six-week abortion ban as it moves closer to becoming law.

You can call us at 305-995-1800, 305-995-1800, and tweet us at Florida Roundup. 995-1800 and tweet us at Florida Roundup. And our guests again this hour is Nancy Ancrum, editorial page editor of the Miami Herald, Nate Monroe, Metro columnist for the Florida Times Union, and Chris Fluker, opinion editor at the Orlando Sentinel. And Nancy, I want to start with you on this one. So, you know, before Governor DeSantis won his reelection, I talked to a couple women supporters of the governor, and they told me, a few of them, that they didn't see the potential that Florida would actually see a total abortion ban under the second term of Governor DeSantis, but that this was an important issue to them. DeSantis, but that this was an important issue to them. To that point, would you expect that there might be any kind of backlash from urban or suburban voters on this issue in particular? There might be. But as we also saw, there was when we look at the reelection, I'll use the word landslide, this governor clearly appeals to people across party lines. And I think he comes across as a take charge leader that so many people do want to see and do appreciate in spite of a number of the policies that he and his enabling legislature is putting in place. I think that any and everyone has a right to oppose abortion on moral grounds, on religious grounds.

I think, however, that pro-choice should mean just that, that you do have a choice, that women in this state do have a choice. And increasingly, we do not. 305-995-1800. Lots of tweets. Meanwhile, Deborah tweets the show. How can they say they are pro-life if they let anyone have a gun? Florida is unsafe for residents and visitors, she says. Let us know what you think. Mario in Lake Mary, Florida. Mario, thanks for calling in. Go ahead. Thank you for having me. And similar to the individual who tweeted, how can you have one and the other? You know, I think I kind of understand these individuals' mindset. I don't call them Republicans because that's not what I think of a traditional Republican, but I think I understand their mindset. Their mindset is, you know what,

let's let every Tom, Dick, and crazy Harry carry a gun, and what we'll do is, for you people that want to have an abortion, don't worry, we got you covered. We'll then let these crazies go into your schools and kill your babies. But whatever they do, don't carry a book of art with nude people because we will arrest you for pornography. That's their mindset. That's all I have to say. All right, Mario. Nate Monroe, Florida Times Union. I think particularly in the wake of yet another mass shooting, this one in Nashville, Tennessee, the 130th this year alone. 130th this year alone. There is much outrage among a big swath of the voters who do not approve of this gun bill or the abortion bill and at the same time are drawing a comparison between that

and books being removed from classrooms in Florida schools. and books being removed from classrooms in Florida schools. We've seen a lot of commentary about that just in the last few weeks. Yeah, I mean, this just is kind of an encapsulation of the DeSantis era in Florida. You wonder at some point, you know, what what is going what is too far? What is going to actually be too far for voters? I mean, he is targeting and really dismantling an incredibly popular system of higher education from UF down to our smallest colleges. He is pushing through enormously unpopular legislation. And, you know, is suffering no apparent, you know, popular backlash for this. I mean, it is it's it's kind of the dilemma and and contradiction of the DeSantis era. I mean, it really is.

And we have a call coming in from Tampa. Patricia calling from Tampa. Thank you for calling. You're on. I believe strongly that the vindictiveness of DeSantis with his removal of Andrew Warren, now the abortion bill issue, Jay Collins with his ridiculous permitless carry passed yesterday with guns. All these issues are going to culminate in no Republicans being elected nationally ever again because too many of the public are on the side

I'm on. Good sense. And let's protect all people. Some strong thoughts there from from Patricia calling from Tampa. Chris, I mean, what do you I don't it's not even remotely possible. I mean, we are in an era where it does seem like the Republican Party in Florida is just brushing aside any commentary, any popular backlash, any polls or anything. But is this just the new normal? Danny, can I respond to that? Yes. I think that I'm not quite sure about Patricia's vision. What we see in Florida is a severely weakened Democratic Party that seems to have no comeback, no convincing pushback to offer people who are registered Democrats. I think that they have been out of office for so long that they don't have a strong bench of people. They don't have a message. We saw their failure to push back in 2018 and 2020 against accusations of being socialists. Really?

And they did not have a salient, cogent response. I think they have lost touch in this state with people that they have commonly relied upon to to to support them. And until the Democrats really, really get their act together, this is the road that we will continue to go down. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. And Chris, you're going to add to that. I would like to yes and and i think that there is one thing that that the republicans realize that they're facing which is that there are young voters coming up um who are very much engaged on their own level.

Right after the Roe decision was first leaked, there was a huge rally in downtown Orlando, and I went, and there is one picture that I took there that will stick with me for a very long time. It's a young woman, I'd probably say about 15 years old, and she's holding a sign that says, as a girl, I hope that someday I will have as many rights as a gun does in Florida. Nate Monroe, as we've been discussing, yes, as we've been discussing this, clearly the governor has presidential aspirations. Are these measures, though, as another caller pointed out, are they too extreme for a national voter base?

Is this legislation in Florida going to play a role in the 2024 presidential election? I mean, whether it will or not, I guess, is something we'll just have to see. I think it's clear that DeSantis thinks it will. You know, he's playing to a base that is I don't think there is much that is too extreme. And so I as we've talked about through the course of the show, I actually suspect that that some of this legislation, like the permitless carry bill, and even the six week abortion ban are things that may not go far enough for parts of his base. And so if he is going to course correct, it might actually be to to go even further. I mean, I just think that's the

trajectory we're on. And that's clearly the calculation that he's making. I mean, this is just unambiguous. This stuff has very little to do with fixing real problems in real Florida. This is about fixing DeSantis up for his presidential campaign. Florida. This is about fixing DeSantis up for his presidential campaign. I want to thank all three of you for joining us today. All opinion columnists, Nancy Ancrum, editorial page editor of the Miami Herald, Nate Monroe with the Florida Times Union, and Chris Fluker with the Orlando Sentinel. Thanks. Thank you all. And before we wrap, we did want to take a moment to wish the university of miami and florida atlantic university men's basketball teams good luck in their ncaa tournament final

four games this weekend um and fau's appearance in the semi-finals makes florida the third state in the last 30 years to put two teams in the final four, joining North Carolina and Kentucky and all the calls, all the tweets, et cetera. I think that is one thing we can all agree on. Let's go canes and go owls. Alrighty.

Yeah. Good luck to him. You know, when I used to live in Kentucky a long time ago during March madness, you could buy a bottle of maker's mark Danny in Lexington, Kentucky with blue wax instead of red wax to celebrate the U.K. basketball team. I'll never forget that. That was a collector's item. I bet it still is today. I'll be looking out for the rum deals here in Miami. All right. Well, it's been quite a discussion. And thanks to everyone who called and tweeted.

We couldn't get everybody on, but that just shows you how much engagement we've got here on the Florida Roundup. And we appreciate it. That is our show. The Florida Roundup is produced by WJCT Public Media in Jacksonville and WLRN Public Media in Miami. Heather Schatz, Bridget O'Brien, and Natu Tway are show producers. Brendan Rivers is our associate producer. WLRN's vice president of radio and our technical director is Peter Mayers. Engineering help from Doug Peterson, Charles Michaels, and Isabella Da Silva.

Richard Ives answers the phones. And our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Libos at AaronLibos.com. I'm Danny Rivero. And I'm Melissa Ross. Thanks for calling, listening, and tweeting us. And have a Melissa Ross. Thanks for calling, listening and tweeting us and have a great weekend.