Gov. Rick Scott (R) is pushing firearm confiscation orders and stands opposed to the suggestion that teachers should be armed for school safety.
CNN reports that Scott is pushing a “Violent Threat Restraining Order,” which are similar to California’s Gun Violence Restraining Orders in that they a designed to secure court orders to confiscate firearms following a family member’s complaint.
It is difficult to see how such orders–designed to be triggered by family requests–would have been effective against Nikolas Cruz. After all, the family with which he was staying repeatedly called the police on him in November 2017 but refused to file charges when sheriff’s deputies arrived. A member of the family with which Cruz was staying explained away Cruz’s erratic behavior by saying he “had been suffering significantly from the loss of his mother” earlier in the month.
Scott is also pushing a bump stock ban, “tougher background checks,” more stringent rules against the mentally ill, and a ban on purchasing or possessing firearms by anyone “subject to an injunction for protection against stalking, cyberstalking, dating violence, repeat violence, sexual violence, or domestic violence.
In other words, gun control, gun control, gun control.
And in the wake of the heinous school shooting in which students and unarmed, defenseless teachers were killed, Scott stands opposed to arming teachers for defense of themselves and their students. He said, “I think you need to have individuals that are trained, well-trained. My focus is let law enforcement do the keeping us safe and let teachers focus on teaching.”
Scott said this even though the law enforcement officer present on campus during the attack failed to confront Cruz. On February 22 ABC 13 reported that Broward County sheriff’s deputy Scott Peterson was on campus outside building 12 during the attack, but “never went in” after Cruz. Peterson resigned from sheriff’s office after his lack of action was uncovered.
County Sheriff Scott Israel was going to fire deputy Scott Peterson not in picture.
The school resource deputy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has resigned following the school massacre, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed.
In a press conference Thursday, Israel said the armed deputy, Scott Peterson, was on campus during the shooting but failed to go inside to engage the accused shooter, Nikolas Cruz.
The decision to suspend Peterson was made after witness statements, video and Peterson’s own statement, Israel said.
“What I saw was a deputy arrive at the west side of Building 12, take a position and he never went in,” Israel added.
Instead of facing the suspension, Peterson decided to resign/retire.
Cruz is accused of killing 17 people in the nation’s deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
