Florida House refuses to debate guns, declares porn dangerous
The Florida House of Representatives was in session on Tuesday considering several issues. These included a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of the mass shooting that killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a resolution declaring pornography a public health risk.
The House chose not to consider the gun-control bill.
It later passed the resolution claiming that porn is dangerous.
“Unfortunately, just five days after 17 people were gunned down at a Florida school, the Florida House just passed a bill that declares pornography a ‘public health risk,’” state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) told the Independent. “Basically, what they have determined is that these are the Republican priorities in 2018: Wasting our time with debate and legislation that declares porn as a health threat. Meanwhile we can’t even get a single debate, vote or hearing on anything related to assault weapons.”
“That’s really sad,” he added.
Tuesday’s session opened with state Rep. Kionne McGhee (D) asking for a procedural change to allow the House to consider the bill banning assault weapons, which was assigned to three committees but had not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
“I ask that you keep this bill and the conversation about the solution to combat mass shootings alive,” McGhee declared. “The shooting at Parkland demands extraordinary action.”
The House voted down the motion 71 to 36 within three minutes as survivors of the shooting watched from the gallery of the Capitol.
“It was just so heartbreaking to see how many [voters’] names were up there, especially after it was my school,” Sheryl Acquaroli, a 16-year-old junior at Stoneman Douglas who was watching, told CNN. “It seemed almost heartless how they immediately pushed the button to say no.”
“They had a chance to stop it today. If there is another mass shooting it’s going to be their fault,” she added.
Less than an hour later, state Rep. Ross Spano (R) presented his resolution, arguing that viewing porn can lead to both “mental and physical illnesses” along with “deviant, or problematic sexual behaviors.”
Smith asked Spano questions, among them whether anyone has ever been “been physically handicapped” by porn, or if porn had ever caused any first responders to seek therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Do you believe that identifying porn as a public health risk is more important than identifying gun violence as a public health violence, especially after the events of this week and the events of June 12, 2016, when 29 people were murdered by gun violence at Pulse?” Smith asked.
While there is some evidence that pornography can be mentally damaging, there is also support for the argument that it leads to greater sexual satisfaction. No scientific consensus exists on its overall positive or negative effect.
The House approved the resolution by a voice vote, to the chagrin of many House Democrats.
“He was saying porn as a health risk was more important to address here in the Florida legislature than the epidemic of gun violence,” Smith later told the Associated Press. “These are their priorities. I don’t understand the politics, to be honest, if I’m being honest. I’m not aware there’s a base of voters who are losing sleep every night over the epidemic of pornography as a public health crisis.”
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I live about 5 miles from MSDHS in Parkland. What I have to say about this is plain & simple.
Take a gun, ANY gun; load it, chamber a round, take off the safety and set it on a table. HOW many people will this gun kill?? Answer?? NONE!! You can leave that gun on that table for the next 40 years and it wont kill anyone.
The Broward Sheriff’s office dropped the ball by not going in– (they told Coral Springs Police to go in first) There were 4 Deputies that did nothing for 4 minutes, yet only one of them were fired. The event has moved on to the burial stage and will soon be forgotten.
SAD…. SO SAD
(sorry to be “off topic”)
Sean – just for arugments’ sake, take a lunatic and give them access to a knife or access to an assault rifle and see which instrument causes more damage in the next 40 seconds.
Everyone has a different point of view on the gun issue and FAC takes no position on any laws other than registration laws, because that’s the only position our membership has in common.
The point of sharing the article is not to debate the gun laws, but to show how misguided our legislature is. In the face of one of the worst mass school shootings in our nation’s history, they focus on declaring porn the “danger” our state should be focusing on.
I would just like to see some proof that this idiotic sex offender registry protects children??? Everyday on the news I see someone wait no not just someone it’s usually a employee at a school or a member of law enforcement or a pastor at a church arrested for a crime on a child… what I don’t see is a sex offender being arrrested for repeating the crime he committed. Most sex offenders that end up back in jail are because they couldn’t continue to adhere to these idiotic laws that keep being added to the registry. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for protecting children but the registry does nothing to protect children it’s just putting money in some greedy assholes pockets. And I also agree that if you commit a severe enough crime and it’s proven that you are a threat to society through health and mental screenings then you need to either stay in prison or be in a civil commitment center. Not on a registry where if you do click your just gonna go commit another crime and make us other registrants look evil. There are way to many people that clearly either made a small mistake in there life or were set up that are on this registry for life lumped in with people that do need to be watched on a daily basis.. it’s B.S. ok rant over.
If common sense is so common why are there so many that have absolutely none!! there is no reason that a private person has an assault rifle. The only thing it is good for is killing and not hunting. Only the military should have such weapons not the general public. When are these lawmakers going to wise up. I have no problem with someone owning guns for hunting and protection. It is also time to educate our children in some decent values. Life is important to all of us and everyone has a right to live and feel safe whether it is in school, at the mall, enjoying a sporting event, church, Or out for a night at a club relaxing after hard week at work. I know that I am not alone when I am out doing something that I am looking around wondering if there is someone ready to start shooting. This is very stressful and there should be no reason to have to do this.