Introduction to the Issue
Florida students who were traumatized by the 2018 Parkland school shooting, and the recent deadly shooting at Florida State University, are urging lawmakers in the Republican-controlled statehouse not to roll back gun restrictions they passed in the wake of the killing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The students, including double mass-shooting survivors, are walking the halls of the Capitol building, lobbying lawmakers to support gun control policies in the final two weeks of the legislative session, which is scheduled to end May 2.
Background on the Law
Gun rights activists have been fighting to unravel the 2018 law since it was passed, including a provision that raised the state’s minimum age to buy a gun to 21. Gov. Ron DeSantis and some Republican lawmakers have argued that if an 18-year-old Floridian can serve in the military, they should be able to purchase a firearm.
Impact of the Law
Two people were killed and six others injured in the shooting last Thursday that terrorized FSU’s campus, about a mile from the state Capitol. Logan Rubenstein, a 21-year-old junior at FSU, says it could have been much worse, if a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers hadn’t taken action after Parkland.
People sit in front of a makeshift memorial outside the student union at Florida State University, on April 17, 2025, in Tallahassee after a campus shooting that left two men dead and six people injured, including the suspect. (Kate Payne/AP)
Effectiveness of the Law
Rubenstein believes gun restrictions passed by the Legislature in 2018 helped prevent the FSU shooter from carrying out more carnage — like what happened at Rubenstein’s high school in Parkland seven years ago. Rubenstein was in eighth grade at nearby Coral Springs Middle School when a 19-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed 17 people and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The Shooter’s Actions
Investigators say the suspect in the FSU shooting, a 20-year-old student at the university named Phoenix Ikner, armed himself with a handgun that was the former service weapon of his stepmother, a local sheriff’s deputy. Under the state’s current laws, he couldn’t legally buy a rifle from a federally licensed dealer.
Student Activism
About three weeks before the FSU shooting, the Florida House passed a bill that would lower the state’s minimum age to buy a gun to 18. The proposal had stalled in the state Senate even before the FSU shooting, and it appears even less likely to advance now. Still, speaking at a rally with student activists on the steps of Florida’s historic old Capitol on Wednesday, Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky said she is not letting up. Polsky, whose district includes Parkland, is among the Democrats who have sponsored gun control bills this session that never got a hearing in the Capitol, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.
Conclusion
The students are urging lawmakers to defend the gun control law and not roll back the restrictions. They believe that the law has been effective in preventing more carnage and that it is essential to save lives. The students, including double mass-shooting survivors, are determined to continue fighting for gun control policies and are not letting up.
FAQs
Q: What is the current minimum age to buy a gun in Florida?
A: The current minimum age to buy a gun in Florida is 21.
Q: What is the proposal that was passed by the Florida House?
A: The proposal that was passed by the Florida House would lower the state’s minimum age to buy a gun to 18.
Q: What do the students believe about the law?
A: The students believe that the law has been effective in preventing more carnage and that it is essential to save lives.
Q: Who is Logan Rubenstein?
A: Logan Rubenstein is a 21-year-old junior at FSU who was in eighth grade at nearby Coral Springs Middle School when a 19-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed 17 people and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Q: What is the name of the suspect in the FSU shooting?
A: The suspect in the FSU shooting is a 20-year-old student at the university named Phoenix Ikner.
