Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, says it’s not guns but prescription drugs like Ritalin that are the core cause of mass shootings. Hill has filed a bill to repeal several gun related provisions passed by lawmakers after the school shooting in Parkland.
Hill claims a state ban on bump stocks, raising the age to purchase a rifel to 21, along with the so-called “Red Flag" law are unconstitutional.
“It is my distinct responsibility because of my oath that I took to the constitution that I have to file the bill. There is no other measure for me to do. If I have any fidelity to my oath at all then I must file legislation that is going to repeal those measures that I see are directly a confrontation to our constitution."
The Red Flag law allows law enforcement to petition a court to take away someone's firearm.
Hill says he filed his measure before the two recent mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, but would have filed it after those shootings took place as well. Meanwhile, Senate President Bill Galvano has called for more ideas to reduce gun related violence by building on the laws Hill wants to repeal, and two Democratic lawmakers are seeking to expand the people who can petition courts to remove guns to include immediate family members and legal guardians.
