Yesterday on News Talk 1370’s “Pensacola Speaks,” State Rep. Matt Gaetz said that an effort by the Florida House Democrat to force a special session on guns will fail.
“We’ve got Democrats in the State Legislature starting to follow some of the gimmicks Democrats are using in Washington,” he said. “We’ve learned today that in Washington, Congressional Democrats are holding a sit-in and refusing to leave the floor of the chamber until there’s action on their various gun control proposals which would make Americans less safe.”
Rep. Gaetz had said that Democrats are pushing for votes on gun control legislation.
“I am getting reports today that Democrats are going to use a constitutional power to poll all of the members of the Florida Legislature to see if there is sufficient support to hold a special legislative session on gun control,” said Gaetz. “Now we have a very conservative legislature, a very pro-gun legislature, so I don’t expect their effort to be successful.”
He explained that if 32 state lawmakers sign a letter to the Clerk of the House, the Clerk must poll the membership to see if there is sufficient support for a special session. It requires a super majority to do that.
“They won’t obtain it but it is a gimmick that it isn’t going to make anybody safer,” predicted Gaetz. “I think detracts from the national conversation we need to have about terrorism and the risk of some of these self-radicalizing lone wolf.”
The State Representative who is running for Congress said that he believes the Second Amendment enhances security.
“There are things we absolutely can do without new laws to make all Americans safer from terrorists,” he said. “Right now, they’re already mechanisms in place for the FBI to receive notice when someone that they believe is a great threat to the security of the country is involved in a firearms transaction. If we would be more diligent at following the laws that are on the books, there’s no need to rush to have new laws.”
He did not see the need to rush and pass new laws.
“I think cool heads have to prevail but there are many groups and many conservatives who don’t want to see all Americans at risk and ending up on any type of a government list that leads you to deprivation of rights without some due process,” Gaetz said.
“I think we can do this, these are not unsolvable challenges. I don’t think that sit-ins and protests necessarily facilitate the problem-solving that needs to occur though.”
