Florida state representative Jake Raburn (R-Valrico) has responded to the January 6 attack at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International by introducing a bill to allow concealed carry in the baggage claim and other unsecured portions of airports.
Currently, Florida is one of only six states that ban law-abiding citizens from carrying concealed weapons in airports.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Raburn stressed that a law-abiding citizen could have used his or her gun to stop the attacker Friday, thereby saving lives. He said, “I do personally feel like had this bill been in place already, there could have been the potential for people to protect themselves in that situation.”
There is currently no Senate companion bill for Raburn’s legislation, although Senator Greg Steube (R-Sarasota) has introduced a broader bill that repeals a number of gun-free zones, airports included. So Raburn is looking for a more concise Senate bill to serve as a companion to his legislation or a larger House bill into which he can place his bill as a companion to Steube’s. Either way, he wants gun-free zones in unsecured portions of the airport done away.
Raburn said, “I carry my weapon wherever I go, but I travel a lot and it’s something I’ve thought about a lot as I have to comply with the law.”
Breitbart News previously reported that the FBI’s George Piro said shooting suspect Esteban Santiago flew to the gun-free Ft. Lauderdale airport “specifically” to carry out the attack.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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