Every year, GIFFORDS — the national gun-violence prevention organization — releases a gun law scorecard, rating states on how effective their laws are at reducing gun violence.
The organization was founded by Gabby Giffords, a former congresswoman who was grievously wounded in her Arizona district in a 2011 mass shooting by a gunman who killed six people during a meeting with constituents at a Tucson grocery store.
For 15 years, GIFFORDS has graded states on a scale from an A plus to an F, using data on gun deaths, newly passed laws, and funding for violence-prevention programs as metrics.
Florida received a C-minus.
GIFFORDS' Florida State Director, Samantha Barrios spoke to WLRN about the state's rating this year.
The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
WLRN: Florida received a C- this year, which is actually higher than all of its neighboring states, which received F's. What does Florida's grade on the scale say about the state's gun laws?
BARRIOS: After Parkland, there was a package of laws that were passed, which included extreme risk protection, which [are] called red flag [laws], and increasing the age of gun purchases from 18 to 21.
Unfortunately, since Ron DeSantis got into office, we have seen his intention to try to push the gun lobby. And unfortunately, we have had certain laws that have been put in place that are making Floridians less safe around gun safety. And one of those passed a couple of years ago, which was permit-less carry.
Individuals are basically allowed to purchase a gun without a permit, training, or license. So although we have made progress, we still need our elected officials to put public safety first.
Florida ranks 24th of 50 overall in gun law strength on the Gifford scale. Earlier this year, an appeals court ruling involving the state's open-carry restrictions got a lot of attention. Did that change factor into this year's score?
Unfortunately, open carry has been enacted. This happened very recently. We still don't have enough data to provide and to have a complete analysis on how open carry is affecting the safety of Floridians. We are very concerned. We feel like this is something that will affect the safety of Floridians.
A simple altercation can turn into a very dangerous situation. [But], the fact that we now have permitless carry and open carry in place, Floridians are allowed to wear a weapon without a license, training, or practice.
The state legislative session is set to start next month. Lawmakers are expected to consider lowering the minimum purchase age for long guns and rifles from 21 to 18 again. The effort to change the law has failed three other times in the past few years. What do you think Floridians need to understand about a change like this?
Lowering the age, first of all, would be a regression to all the progress that we've been able to make. It would also be disrespectful to the families and survivors from Parkland.
We know that the brain of an individual matures sometimes till, you know, they're probably 26. So having individuals being able to purchase guns at a lower age, 18, might result in more actions of violence because of impulsivity or other issues and aspects that have to do with the maturity of the brain.
What does Gifford suggest the state do when it comes to gun safety laws? What are policy gaps you think lawmakers need to address in the upcoming session?
Our priority will be to oppose HB 133, which is lowering the age from 21 to 18. We are always big advocates of background checks. We do understand that CVI — Community Violence Intervention programs — produce effective results, and we understand that requiring training and licenses will basically be a part of what would help to keep us safer around guns.
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