The Governor of Florida Rick Scott refused on Wednesday to give an answer to questions regarding whether policymakers should take a stricter stand on mental health and gun control laws should be made tighter. Scott only said to the reporters that “there’s a time” to have such conversations.
“There’s a time to continue to have these conversations about how through law enforcement, how through mental illness funding that we make sure that people are safe,” Scott stated at a news conference in Parkland, Florida.
Scott’s statement comes only a few hours after a gunman opened fire on teachers and students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which resulted in 17 people dead.
According to The Hill, Governor Scott as a Republican has an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association’s(NRA) Political Victory Fund.
The shooter is 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz who has been flagged as a potential threat to fellow students in the past. After the shooting Cruz was taken to Broward Health North in Pompano Beach, about 13 miles from the high school, and was later released in police custody. Cruz had previously been expelled from the high school for disciplinary reasons.
The Hill also reports that right after the shooting, gun-control advocates and some Democratic lawmakers renewed calls for tightening gun laws, particularly for those with mental illnesses.
“This is not normal. This is not acceptable. This is not inevitable,” Tom Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said. “It’s long past time for our leaders to stop pretending we are helpless in the face of such tragedy.”
Representative Seth Moulton called on President Trump to “get off his ass” and work with lawmakers to pass gun-control legislation.
“I invite him to get off his ass and join me in trying to do something about it,” Moulton wrote on Twitter.
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