Gun Control Group Pushes Ballot Initiative to Ban ‘Assault Weapons’ in Florida

The gun control “Ban Assault Weapons Now” is pushing a ballot initiative to ban the ownership of “assault weapons” in the state of Florida.

The group’s steering committee includes gun control Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Parkland), and committee members include Parkland students who survived the February 14, 2018, attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Fox 35 reports that the group is working with a “California-based company” for petitions in order to get the necessary signatures to get the initiative on the ballot for 2020. Outside companies/groups/financiers have been a big part of the gun control initiatives that changed Washington state from gun-friendly to one of the most stringently gun-controlled states in the union.

And even though Nevada’s 2016 gun control initiative was proclaimed null and void, it did pass, and that passage largely depended on the fact that it was “bankrolled” by Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group.

“Ban Assault Weapons Now” explains their goal:

Florida law allows its citizens to propose amendments to the state constitution by petition, which will then be placed before voters in a general election. The NRA and gun manufacturers may hold sway over politicians, but they don’t control our voices, our votes. The numbers are on our side. According to a February 20th poll from MSNBC, 67 percent of Americans support an assault weapons ban. A poll from Florida Atlantic University reports that 70 percent of Florida voters favor an assault weapons ban.

A focus on banning “assault weapons” is misplaced, as they are not the weapons of choice for mass shooters. The Rockefeller Institute of Government studied a 50-year time-frame and found that handguns were the weapon of choice by a margin of three to one. But handguns are also the weapon of choice for the nearly 18 million concealed carry permit holders who carry a firearm for self-defense daily.

Rather than type of gun, the real problem is time. And time is on any attacker’s side when they step into a gun-free zone to attack innocents. For example, Breitbart News reported that the Parkland attacker paused five times to reload during his attack. He had no reason to be in a hurry, as no one could shoot back at him.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.