A former darling of the NRA, Senator Anitere Flores is blaming redistricting for her decision to single-handedly shoot down a raft of gun bills in the Florida Legislature.
The Miami Republican once scored a coveted 100 percent rating with the National Rifle Association, but she says voters in her newly redrawn district are concerned about public safety.
“The 2010 district was different than the 2012 district, and the 2012 district was different than the 2016 district, so it’s obviously very different. But my stance since I’ve been in the Senate on guns has been, I think, rather consistent, in that I reflect the majority of my constituents.”
Flores’ District 39 includes portions of Monroe County and the Florida Keys as well as southern and western Miami-Dade. Flores and like-minded Democrats on the Senate Judiciary are blocking a number of bills expanding rights for concealed weapons permit holders, including open carry and campus carry.
