Photo Courtesy of Safetysigns.com.
State Rep. Mike Hill, who was elected in November and is a Republican, filed the bill that would virtually repeal several bills that were passed into law in March of 2018 known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act.
The newly proposed bill, HB 175, would remove the requisite waiting period to purchase firearms, along with a provision which elevated the age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21.
There are teachers who don’t necessarily see the age requirement to buy a firearm as the threat, but rather how underage individuals are acquiring firearms.
Erica Farmer, history teacher at Raa Middle School, gave her sentiment on the bill.
“I don’t think that the age limit is the issue within itself,” said Farmer “Any person of any age can walk into a school and commit those horrible crimes, but where the underaged students get those guns is the issue.”
Hill’s bill will also be aiming to repeal the Red Flag Law. It gives police officers the authorization to confiscate weapons from individuals who they believe pose a threat to themselves or others.
Some officers believe this is one of the most efficient ways to guarantee safety for the community.
Leon County Sheriff Deputy Paxton Rogers, a safety officer at Griffin Middle School, offered his thoughts on the motion to remove the Red Flag Law.
“I support the effort to repeal the law. I feel that safety is our number one job as officers,” Rogers said. “Any way we can eliminate someone’s opportunity to cause harm to someone, us, or themselves is a job well done at the end of the day.”
In a statement, Hill told NBC reporters he is seeking to repeal most parts of the bill because he took a “solemn oath to support, protect, and defend the U.S Constitution."
“The referenced Act violates the Second Amendment to the U.S Constitution,” Hill told reporters. “Therefore I am obligated and duty bound by my oath to file legislation to repeal those measures in the Act to infringe upon the U.S Constitution.”
Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg spoke out in a livestream opposing the bill to repeal the laws.
"It's f—ing ridiculous what he's doing," Hogg said. "For the thousands of kids that went up to Tallahassee and worked their asses off to get these laws passed, the least they can do is try not to reverse them their first year back in office."