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A bill mandating background checks on sales of firearms at gun shows has stalled in the Florida state senate, despite being backed by Senate President Bill Galvano and several other Republican senators.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Galvano and others are blaming the inaction on election year politics.
Taking up a controversial gun-control measure is not one of their priorities, said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, who is sponsoring the bill. “Is that a piece of legislation that Republican legislators would just soon go away?” Lee said. “Oh, duh, of course it is.” In the wake of back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last year Galvano asked Lee to come up with a bill to make the state safer, including potential limits on guns.
Lee and his committee came back with Senate Bill 7028, which would close the “gun show loophole” by requiring all sales at gun shows go through a background check. Currently, private-party sales at gun shows are not required to go through background checks.