In the wake of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, one Florida lawmaker wants to make gun owners foot the bill for students' safety.
Friday Rep. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) filed HB 325, which dictates mandatory guidance counseling for students in school safety issues, widens gun prohibition from school buildings to a "safety zone" within 500 feet of a school, and allows anyone to "check" their firearm with officials when they arrive at a school to avoid prosecution.
In order to pay for these increased safety measures, Stewart proposes creating a Safe School Trust Fund (HB 327) within the Department of Education, and she wants it funded by taxes collected on Florida gun and ammo sales.
Likewise, a group of Harvard professors recently called for a new national tax on all guns and ammunition as a way to "provide stable revenue to meaningfully target gun violence prevention,” according to MSN.
While some state lawmakers are working to prevent a Sandy Hook massacre in Florida, others are focused on tightening emergency response in such situations.
Rep. Mike La Rosa (R-St. Cloud) filed a new bill on Monday requiring district school boards to list emergency response agencies that are responsible for notifying in case of emergencies and that such agencies notify private schools in the same district under certain circumstances.